


the goat

by vgaeu



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, fluff but make it satanic, zimzalabim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2020-05-15 15:10:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19298263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vgaeu/pseuds/vgaeu
Summary: sooyoung has everything going for her and has even been given a stupid nickname because of it, but when haseul gets stuck in the woods and sees something she's not supposed to, sooyoung is forced to get her involved to keep her secret





	1. into the woods

The newfound chill in the air and the cascading leaves from the swaying trees of the northern woods were a testament to the coming fall. And the lackadaisical summer days were now teasing its impending end, the nights buried face first in textbooks and mornings spent hands jittering with the high of caffeine were soon to make its unwelcome comeback.

Haseul knew this as she clutched her jacket a little tighter to her chest, her shorts and t-shirt no longer sufficient for a comfortable evening out and her head already aching with the number of classes she would have to take. But she was no different from the rest of the students who were crossing the threshold of the property, already hearing the pounding music from the house and seeing the chaos beginning to pour out of the front doors and across the lawn.

Because as always, hand in hand with the coming semester was the party.

It was the biggest party of the summer, always hosted at some rich kid’s house, if one would even call it a house, in the northern part of the town and everyone always attended. Literally everyone, from those who sought refuge on the library floor during exam season to those who didn’t even know where their campus library was, all students came to enjoy themselves, to make one last ditch effort to ‘live their summer to its fullest’ before returning to the concrete prison they called college. But she knew this really meant them doing coke until they passed out or just finding some chump to bang and then bounce.  

But to be quite honest, Haseul was bored, calloused to everything she had ever experienced and starved for excitement to near emaciation. So, she just kept coming to these parties, claiming that it was to keep Jinsoul company and Jinsoul was ever so grateful for that, depending on Haseul to be there to take care of her as she flitted through her three drunk phases.

And though it was a valid reason, the more prominent one was one she would never admit: these parties were the only time she was brave enough to even sit in the same room as her neighbor Sooyoung.

They had lived next door for years, a mere wall apart from one another in their dinky apartments but Sooyoung had always felt so far away, what with her ridiculously high GPA and her athletic prowess and her philanthropic nature after starting her own domestic abuse support group. She was golden, unstoppable, even going as far as being dubbed the Greatest Of All Time. A ridiculous name really, but it truly was appropriate in celebrating her accomplishments and it only helped inflate her head, the girl not being able to really hide her arrogance despite her overall kindness.

It didn’t help that she was incredibly attractive as well and Haseul couldn’t take her eyes off of her as she made her way across the room, constantly followed and surrounded by people who just wanted a moment of her attention.

That evening, Haseul sunk into the couch, admittedly a little stoned as she looked over at the kitchen bar, watching as Jinsoul leaned against the wall, a bottle of beer in hand, guffawing raucously at some lame joke Jungeun had made. And as the night came creeping in, so did a hand up her thigh and her laughs became lower and more suggestive, the two inching closer and closer, as if it were a game of chicken. But that night, Jinsoul was never empty handed, only picking up more and more bottles as if they were an oasis in her desert of desire. Haseul didn’t stop her, only keeping a steady eye, ready to pull her out as soon as she hit the third phase and sure enough, within the hour, Jinsoul was on the floor, crying about the cat she had accidentally put in the washing machine or something else that Haseul couldn’t quite make out through her ugly sobbing. Haseul pushed through the curious crowd, peeling the girl from the floor and throwing her arm over Haseul’s shoulder, the two stumbling in unison from the house.

When the double doors shut behind them, a nice chill greeted them, a pleasant juxtaposition to the ever growing heated bubble they had just burst out of. Haseul shut her eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air before looking down at Jinsoul’s pouty face.

“Why did we go?” She whined and Haseul chuckled quietly as she walked her down the concrete steps.

“It’s getting late.”

“But I was talking to Jungeun! Do you think she likes me? I think we’re really getting somewhere.” Jinsoul rambled through hiccups and Haseul bit her tongue as she helped her into the car before climbing into the driver’s seat herself.

“Thank god you’re not going to remember anything tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

It really was a little stupid. Or, actually, a lot stupid. But it was too late to really assess over the different decisions Haseul had made that night like why she shouldn’t have driven home high or that she could’ve turned the wheel the other way when dodging that damn cat. Because all she could really do was scream and bar her arm against Jinsoul’s sleepy chest as the car came careening off the street and down into the woods. And her foot slamming against the brakes really proved to be fruitless as the car bounced with the uneven ground and the branches slapped mercilessly against the windows.

They were going too fast and her head was moving too slow, Haseul barely turning the wheel on time to avoid the obstacles ahead of them like the cartoon driver’s tests where they would avoid the cardboard grannies. But thankfully, the car began to slow and soon enough it stopped, plunging them into an immediate silence with merely the gentle hum of the engine and Haseul’s ragged breath.

Her ears pounded with the beat of her chest and she turned to Jinsoul, only to see that the girl hadn’t even woken up, her mouth slightly ajar and her eyes shut. Everything about her sleepy presence radiated pure blissfulness.

Haseul let her head hit the steering wheel as she sighed, thinking about how the hell she was going to get them home without popping her tires. Or how she was going to even get them out to begin with considering she didn’t even recognize her surroundings.

The place had always freaked her out beyond belief and she had always refused to step foot in the woods after having seen all of those stupid horror movies that Jinsoul was always making them watch. But now, she was trapped there in the darkness among the towering trees, their only source of light being from the dim headlights of the car and her only company having fallen victim to Mr. Sandman. Her hands shook a little upon putting down her dead phone.

“Okay, we still have the car.” She muttered quietly in an attempt to comfort herself. “We can spend the night in the car and then drive back home in the morning. No big deal. We’ll be fine.” And as if god just wanted to fuck around with her one more time that night, the engine shut off, officially plunging them into darkness.

It took every ounce of self restraint in Haseul’s body for her to not cry.

* * *

 

 

Haseul didn’t even realize she had dozed off until she jerked awake at the sound of soft chanting and she turned to see that Jinsoul had not yet stirred before bringing her eyes to the dashboard of the car. The light of a fire illuminated the trees some distance away and she leaned forward curiously, trying to make out the figure that she saw but all she could see was their hair billowing aggressively as a sudden wind picked up.

And then she saw the limp body on the ground.

Haseul slapped a panicked hand over her mouth, muffling the squeak that had pushed its way from her throat and her eyes widened as she saw the scene unfold before her. Of the knife raising up in the air and the flames only heightening as the voices became louder. A light burst through the woods and the earth began to rumble and she watched frozen in fear as the person flipped the body over and aimed at its chest.

And that would’ve been it if Haseul hadn’t accidentally punched the car horn.

“Dink!” The endearment that she always had for that goofy sound was now replaced with a red hatred.

The figure immediately paused and whipped around to the direction of the sound, Haseul now becoming gripped with terror, turned to Jinsoul and shook the girl to wake her but she didn’t budge.

“Jinsoul! We have to go!” But she was still deep asleep. “Fuck!”

They were now headed towards the car and the mere idea of leaving Jinsoul behind was out of the question. So, Haseul slunk deep into her seat, for the first time grateful to her tiny parents for blessing her with her small stature after her constantly bitching and griping about her lack of height.

And then there was silence.

She held her breath in anticipation, waiting for something to happen and the pounding in her chest was just so damn loud that it felt like her heart was going to fall out. And they lived in that deafening quiet for an eternity before Haseul shut her eyes tightly and let out a shaky exhale. She couldn’t stay like that forever, not with her neck growing sore and her back hurting with her shit position.

“Okay, we’re just going to check. That’s it.” She whispered to herself. “We’re going to be okay.”

Forcing her eyes open, Haseul slowly pulled herself up just enough to peek over the dashboard and she blinked.

There was nothing there. Just the dark trees and the gentle breeze rustling through the leaves. There was no fire. Nothing.

Frowning in confusion, Haseul fully raised herself up and fell back into her seat, letting out a sigh of relief before clutching her chest.

“Wow.”

The peace was short lived when the door flew open and Haseul had no time to react when she was roughly grabbed by the collar and thrown out of the car. Her ass hit the ground with a thud and she stared up in fear as the figure towered over her, their goat mask only making them so much more fucking terrifying. She slowly scooted away as she heard their heavy breathing from inside the mask and they just approached her wordlessly with their knife gripped tightly by their side.

“Please… Just let me go.” She barely managed to choke out. “I won’t tell anyone.” No response. She tried to scoot away faster but to no avail as her back quickly hit the trunk of a tree and she cursed herself for not checking where she was going. But she couldn’t blame herself, being unable to peel her eyes from the goat head.

Haseul watched wide eyed as the figure squatted down in front of her, leaning in towards her face and taking her chin in their gloved hand. She stared into the ominous holes where their eyes were supposed to be and they tilted her chin up to expose her neck, making her flinch at the contact before taking a shaky breath.

“You really weren’t supposed to see that.” A familiar voice spoke softly from behind the mask and Haseul’s terror turned to curiosity for a split moment as she desperately tried to attach the voice to a face. If it was someone she knew, surely they couldn’t kill her right?

“I could pretend I didn’t.” Haseul barely breathed out and the goat cocked its head curiously before letting out a chuckle and bringing the knife to her neck.

“Sorry but I can’t trust that.” The cold blade dug deeper against her neck and that was it. Haseul shut her eyes, ready for the pain and the sweet release of death.

But again, she was welcomed by nothing.

She slowly opened one eye to see the goat was just staring at her unmoving and the knife slowly strayed from her neck back to their side. They stood up, huffing in annoyance and turned around muttering to themselves before whipping back to yell at Haseul.

“Why the fuck did you have to come here?” Haseul stared in confusion at the sudden change.

“What?” The goat didn’t ask for an answer.

“And you brought Jinsoul too! What am I supposed to do? Kill you both and have everyone wonder where you both went? Kill just you and leave a witness? Oh my god!” They buried their head in their hands. “Oh my god, what am I supposed to do with you?”

Amidst the goat panic, Haseul slowly pulled herself to her feet, hoping to slink back to the car but she was quickly pinned back up against the tree.

“Oh, no. You’re not going anywhere.” It was driving her crazy how she couldn’t recognize that voice. There was a rustle and the goat turned around towards the direction of where the fire had been where Haseul saw a figure starting to stir from the ground. “Fuck.” Then they suddenly turned back to Haseul, seeming to have come to a solution.

 

* * *

  
Whatever terror that had gripped Haseul so tightly was replaced by a deep confusion as a plastic bag was pulled over her head and holes were torn out where her eyes were so that she could see. Not pausing for a second after, the goat grabbed her arm once again, dragging her back to the clearing and shoving the knife into her hands before gesturing to the body on the ground.

“Kill him.” She wasn’t sure if she heard them right.

“What?”

“Kill him.” Haseul held the knife unsteadily with her small hands and looked behind her at the goat who was just watching expectantly. “What are you waiting for?” Haseul didn’t respond, staring down at the body and then the knife in her hand as her head ran rampant with different ways to escape. And it was as if the goat had read her mind, shaking its head and chuckling softly. “Don’t fucking try anything.” That was enough to convince her.

The man on the ground groaned and began to stir once more and finally gripped with panic and impatience, the goat knelt down beside her and grabbed her hand. Haseul looked up at them wide eyed and they just turned her head back to the body with their other hand.

“No, look.” And with that, they plunged the knife deep into his chest and Haseul felt the crack of his ribs and heard the disgusting squelch of the blade as it tore through his heart before the goat pulled the knife out and let go of Haseul’s hand. They stood up and restarted the fire, it roaring back up easily and the wind started to pick up once again as the words began to pour from their mouth.

Haseul gagged at the sight of the blood pouring from the man’s body, stumbling backwards and ripping the bag from her head before turning around and doubling over. She threw up what little she had in her stomach. Only then did she realize she was still gripping onto the knife tightly and she dropped it from her shaky hands, staring at the stains on her sleeve and the weapon on the ground before falling to the ground beside it.

Dazed, Haseul stared up at the starry sky that peeked from the gapes of the spinning trees, listening to the muffled voices and watching as the glow of the fire slowly died down. And the goat came kneeling beside her, calling her name in concern before finally pulling their mask off and Haseul was able to match the voice to its owner at long last.

“Sooyoung?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here she is.. in honor of the haseul loonakick
> 
> smash that kudos button below n leave me feedback whether it be here on thru my cc!!!
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


	2. the arrangement

Haseul jolted awake to a familiar white ceiling and the quiet whirring of a fan, thinking she was back in bed at her apartment. It was almost as if nothing had happened and it had all just been an awful nightmare.

And for a moment, she truly believed that that was all it had been. Just another one of her feverish dreams that she would always get after smoking too much.

But Haseul had barely smoked and her body ached too much for comfort.

And it was when she sat up and was greeted by the unfamiliar white comforter that she was tucked beneath and the pictures that hung neatly on the wall that she realized she wasn't at home.

She was at Sooyoung’s.

Haseul pulled her hands to her face, trying to alleviate the crease that was so deeply ingrained on her forehead with her constant frowning but upon meeting the dark red on her sleeve, she forced back a gag and shut her eyes. The metallic odor having weaseled its way down the back of her throat and the images of the night before having pierced through all her thoughts not unlike the blade she had driven through the man's chest.

And she felt her stomach suddenly drop upon remembering her blonde friend passed out in the passenger seat, the idea of her still being stuck in those cursed woods all by herself making Haseul worry excessively.

There was a gentle knock on the door and Haseul whipped her head up as it slowly creaked open.

And there she was, Sooyoung, smiling sheepishly with her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose and her hands bearing a tray full of food. And Haseul blinked, a bit taken aback at how the leather clad demon had so easily turned into _this_. But she remained wary, clutching the edge of the sheets as if they could actually shield her from the other girl.

"I made you something to eat." Sooyoung said, making her way across the room and sitting at the foot of the bed before hesitantly holding out the tray in front of Haseul. But Haseul just shook her head, straightening up and feigning the boldness that she couldn’t find within herself no matter how hard she tried.

“I don’t feel like eating. Where’s Jinsoul?” Fortunately, Sooyoung was too distracted by the rejection to notice her wavering voice.

“I don’t know? You passed out so I took you here. Are you sure you don’t want some eggs? I made them four different ways because I didn’t know how you liked it-” Haseul raised a sudden hand, her worry having overridden any fear she had of Sooyoung, especially now that she looked so harmless.

“You just left her out there?”

Sooyoung rolled her eyes.

“I mean, she was out cold but she was in the car and there’s no bears or anything like that out in those woods, so she’s probably fine.”

“Probably?” Haseul’s voice was starting to raise a bit and Sooyoung huffed, peering at her.

“Relax! She probably went home or something by now but if it makes you feel any better, I’ll take you back there to check.” Haseul reached for her phone, opting to call her but sighed, remembering that it was still in the car.

“Fine.” Sooyoung gave her a quick once over as she climbed out of the bed and opened her closet, tossing her a t-shirt. Haseul raised an eyebrow as she held it up and Sooyoung just gestured to her blood stained clothes.

“I didn’t think you’d want to go out with that, since you got a little… something… everywhere.” Haseul stared at her for a moment and Sooyoung shrugged before returning to the bed to get the breakfast tray. “I’ll meet you outside.”

 

* * *

 

 

Haseul had always known that Sooyoung had a sports bike, even daydreamed about zooming down the coastline on a summer evening, her hands wrapped around her waist and her head pressed against her back as the wind rushed through their hair. But now as she sat behind her, she felt hesitant at the mere idea of touching her, especially considering that the last time they had even been vaguely intimate, if anyone would even qualify it as intimacy, was when Sooyoung had so gently caressed her chin before shoving that knife against her throat. And then when she had pushed her roughly against that tree. Haseul swallowed hard, now knowing who was behind the mask, unsure if the beating in her chest was just fear or something else.

But then she remembered the literal blood on her hands and felt just fine clutching the sides of her seat instead.

“Suit yourself.” Sooyoung smirked as she put on her helmet. “I’m here if it gets too scary.”

“I’ll be okay.” Haseul muttered through gritted teeth and with that Sooyoung revved the bike and they took off with a loud vroom, Haseul screaming and nearly falling off before they had even left the parking structure. Without a second thought, she immediately threw her arms around Sooyoung, holding her tightly and squeezing her eyes shut.

“I thought you’d be okay!” Sooyoung laughed as they turned into the street but Haseul said nothing, too terrified to speak.

They sped down the streets without as much as a word, the relentless wind and incessant vrooming of the bike making it difficult for Haseul squeak out anything more than the occasional “Ah! AH!” when Sooyoung turned too quickly or accelerated unexpectedly.

By the time they reached the edge of the woods and Sooyoung finally shut off the engine and kicked out the kickstand, Haseul was beyond ruffled, still burying her face into her back and clutching her waist firmly. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest and she breathed heavily, drawing the attention of Sooyoung who now felt her shaking with the absence of the bike’s rumbling.

“Are you alright back there?” Haseul nodded into her jacket and Sooyoung laughed, moving her hands down to pull Haseul’s arms from her abdomen. At the contact, Haseul immediately yanked herself away from her body, stiffening.

“Ah, we should go now!” She said, fumbling with the straps of her helmet before hopping off of the bike. “Do you know where my car is from here?”

“Yeah, it’s not a very far walk. Follow me.” Sooyoung immediately set off, walking briskly into the trees. Haseul came quickly after her, trying her hardest to keep up with the tall girl’s stride and having to break into a jog every so often.

Despite the sun that now hung brightly in the sky, the woods still felt a little unsettling. The trees were so thick that their surroundings still seemed dark and the little light that shone through cast moving shadows that Haseul couldn’t help but flinch at.

She never believed in vibes or energy the way that Jinsoul did but being in that place, she couldn’t help but to feel like she was in the presence of something strange and powerful and she didn’t like it.

“Here it is!” Sooyoung called out and Haseul came waddling up to her green Volkswagen, elated at the familiar sight of her baby. But whatever glee that she basked in dissipated and she deflated upon approaching the passenger. The door hung wide open and the window was completely smashed. Seeing Haseul’s dejected look, Sooyoung put a hand on her back before inspecting the inside of the car. “I guess she just left?”

“But why would she smash the window if she was inside?”

“Didn’t you say she was drunk out of her mind? She probably got confused or something.” Haseul crossed her arms, watching as Sooyoung sat in the passenger seat, looking around.

“She wouldn’t do something like that…” Sooyoung pulled open her glove compartment, sifting through her papers before picking up her phone from the cup holder.

“Hey, why don’t you just call her?” Haseul shook her head.

“My phone’s dead.”

Sooyoung pressed the home button and the screen lit up immediately, making her raise a brow at Haseul who spluttered, realizing that she had just forgotten to turn her phone on in her dazy high. Instead, high Haseul had just stared at the dark screen and assumed that it was dead. She wanted to kick herself for her foolishness.

Haseul took the phone from her extended hand and called Jinsoul, tapping her foot in anticipation as the line rang but there was no answer.

“Call again.” Sooyoung said and she nodded, redialing. But once again, after ring after ring, she was met once again with her voicemail. Haseul felt her panic begin to rise once more, thinking that maybe a crazy like Sooyoung had dragged her out of the car and taken care of her the same way they had taken care of that man.

The image of Jinsoul lying on the ground somewhere deep in the woods drenched in her own blood made Haseul’s stomach churn.

But before she could imagine it in greater detail, she suddenly had an idea, scrolling through the apps on her phone and pulling up Find My Friends. Sooyoung climbed out of the car, shutting the door behind her and peering over at the screen.

"Very smart." She hummed, impressed at her ingenuity and upon seeing where Jinsoul was, Haseul shut off her phone and stuck it into her back pocket, feeling a little guilty that she had invaded her friend's privacy. Sooyoung just snickered. "No wonder she isn't picking up her phone… She's at Jungeun's, huh? I'd say she's more than fine."

Haseul blushed at the comment before turning to her car.

"Well, thanks for taking me back here. I'm going to go home now." But she didn't take more than two steps before Sooyoung grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back.

"I'm not letting you leave so easily." She said in a low voice and Haseul turned around, staring up at her fearfully. "Let me explain myself."  
  


* * *

 

Sooyoung wasn't anything she claimed to be. And everything that made her name a household name was not through her efforts but through the triangle shaped insignia of a deal that was burned onto her inner wrist. And it was clear the deal had been made so long ago, the scar now beginning to fade but still prominent enough to see.

It was a lot for Haseul to grasp.

"Okay, so you made a deal with the devil-"

"A demon."

"Right… and you have to make a human sacrifice every full moon…"

"Yes."

"... in order to keep all your success."

"Yeah, you got it." But Haseul really didn't, just staring at her as it all slowly sunk in and Sooyoung sighed, running a hand through her hair. "You really can't let this get out." Haseul shook her head, waving her arms dismissively.

"Oh, don't worry I won't tell anyone. Your secret's safe with me."

But that wasn't enough and Sooyoung bit her lip in thought before meeting Haseul's eyes. And Haseul flinched at the new threatening look in her dark eyes, the atmosphere now having felt as thick as it did the night before. Sooyoung didn't look away, boring her eyes into Haseul's as she spoke.

"Yeah, you won't because it's _our_ secret now..." The confusion in Haseul's face made her lean closer towards her. "... and you're going to keep helping me."

"What if I don't want to?" Haseul barely whispered, grasping the diminishing distance between them and Sooyoung smirked, running her fingers down her neck before taking it firmly in her hand. Haseul's breath hitched and her hands flew up to grab Sooyoung’s arm as she tightened her grip slightly.

"Then I'll just have to kill you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> smash that kudos button below n leave me feedback whether it be here on thru my cc!!!
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


	3. zimzalabim

_Text from Jinsoul:_

_J: so what are we doing for ur bday?_

_H: ... where the hell have u been??_

_J: what are u talking about??_

_H: u broke out of my car!! i'm at the_

_shop getting the window fixed rn_

_J:  oh whoops heh_

_H: i can't believe u.. all just to get laid_

_J: wait what????_

_H: u spent the night at jungeun's??_

_J: what?????_

_H: do u seriously not rmbr??_

_J: oh god_

 

* * *

 

 

The next day came and understandably, her birthday bar run ended quite early, what with Jinsoul now gagging at the smell of alcohol and Haseul being a lightweight. 

“God, I think I drank too much on Thursday.” She sighed in disappointment as she put the glass down and Haseul just picked it up immediately after, putting it to her lips. 

“That’s fine. More for me!” Jinsoul smiled, not really minding and continued on with her stories, watching as Haseul grew redder and looser as she laughed through the night. She liked drunk Haseul, enjoyed how giggly and clingy she would get, whining when Jinsoul would separate their hands for a peanut or shift slightly, disturbing the equilibrium of their shared warmth. 

She was still giggling as they stumbled out of the last place, Haseul now due to her drunkenness and Jinsoul to her clumsiness, and Jinsoul threw her arm around Haseul’s shoulder, helping guide her down the street and to the bus stop. 

“Funny how it’s not me for once.” She laughed and Haseul just leaned into her chest lazily, pulling Jinsoul’s arm tighter around her as they went home. 

They moved desperately through the little time they had left, neither girl really hearing from the other, as the remaining days of the summer went spiraling out of their grasps like the water of an unplugged tub and much to their dismay, they were soon pulling into the packed lot, the sullen gray buildings to become a thing of familiarity once again.

And when the engine shut off, the two stared in silence out the front window, watching as the students poured into the campus, both refusing to step out of the car as if their freedom hadn’t already been wrenched from them.

But from an outsider’s view, they were just being dramatic as usual.

Haseul let out a heavy sigh as she slowly unbuckled her seat belt and Jinsoul followed suit, letting it zip up and over her body at an excruciating rate before slamming her head into the dashboard. And Haseul jolted at the sudden loud thud and whipped to look at her with furrowed brows as she hit her in the shoulder.

“Hey! I just replaced my window! Don’t break my car again!” Well aware of the ardent love that Haseul had for her car, Jinsoul just giggled as she sat up again, petting the dashboard gently. 

“Sorry, Kermit.” 

Then the two went their separate ways, Haseul off to her Literature courses and Jinsoul to her Biology ones, both to rendezvous at the campus coffee shop at the end of their day. And it was Haseul who arrived first, her eyes heavier than the new textbooks that found residence in her arms. She collapsed into a seat at the bar for a moment, dropping her things onto the counter in front of her before heading around to the register. 

And upon meeting their gray haired friend, Haseul grimaced at the sight of her, taking in her dark bags and her glassy eyes as she stared at a cup on the counter. 

“Jesus, Jungeun. Did you get any sleep?” Jungeun jolted up at the sound of her voice and smiled sheepishly, scratching at her collar. 

“No, not really...” Haseul’s eyes flew to her hands, watching as her slender fingers subconsciously rubbed at the shoulder of her turtleneck, before leaning in playfully. 

“That’s unfortunate.. Have you seen Jinsoul lately?” Jungeun’s eyes widened and she nearly choked at the sudden question.

“No! I mean, I had a class with her this morning...” 

Haseul laughed at her blatant panic and was given a scowl as Jungeun pulled out a cup and uncapped her marker. 

“What do you want, bitch?”

She had an hour to kill, Jinsoul having one more class than her that day, and so Haseul opened a textbook, intending to start on her reading when a loud blaring suddenly went off in her pocket. She fumbled with her phone as she pulled it out and silenced it, hoping she hadn’t disturbed the peace when she heard the same sound again near the door and again at another table behind her. Curious, Haseul swiped her phone open.

The sound of the television was raised and Haseul looked up to see Jungeun with one hand on her hip and the other hand flipping through the channels on the remote until she landed on the news. But everyone else ignored it for the most part, continuing on with their chatter and the noises made it difficult for Haseul to really gather much information besides the images on the screen. Of the chubby cheeked, pigtailed girl in her backpack and of the bushy browed man with the crooked nose. The words “estranged father” scrolled beneath his photo as well as a description of his black Ford and when numbers started to roll in, Haseul quickly lost focus, bringing her eyes back to her book. 

“It’s kinda crazy, huh?” Jungeun remarked, looking over at Haseul as she wiped down the counter with a rag. “How people could do things like this and still think the world’s against them.” Haseul just nodded absently, more drawn by the story on the page than the comments spilling from Jungeun’s lips.

“Yeah, it really is.” 

 

* * *

 

The next two weeks drifted by swiftly and Haseul’s head was soon filled with paper deadlines and the resonating tales that she had picked up from her course readings, any thoughts of the turbulent summer end now shoved deep within the crevices of her mind. 

And though she had once dreaded running into Sooyoung at school, she quickly realized it wasn’t bad at all, the other girl only greeting her with a knowing smirk as she walked down the hall, surrounded by her many friends. There were no scary comments, no piercing looks, nothing. She was as harmless as when she’d tried to feed her eggs that morning and Haseul couldn’t help but to think that she might have forgotten their arrangement. 

When the elementary schools started back up once again as well, they called Haseul back in to work where she took care of the after school program, playing games and watching the kids until they were picked up by their parents. The children adored her, running to welcome her in their tiny embrace whenever she walked through the door and she loved them, living vicariously through the innocence and joy in their eyes.

Whatever little free time that she had now was spent writing her short stories or taking care of her precious Beetle that she had so affectionately dubbed Kermit for its green color. She would wash it every few days and carefully wipe its seats and dashboard with a microfiber cloth before blanketing it with a car cover despite having it parked in a structure. 

“I don’t understand why you do that!” Jinsoul would always laugh at the thought. “It’s not like it’s going to rain in that parking structure.” And Haseul would huff in response, pulling up far-fetched scenarios where someone would spill their drink on her car or where a leak would suddenly spring from the concrete ceiling and Jinsoul would just laugh harder. 

But that car was her baby and she remembered the day that she came across it, the poor thing parked haphazardly at the curb of somebody’s house, covered in dust. Haseul had come up to it curiously, admiring its round curves and the cuteness of its headlights when she saw the ‘For Sale’ sign propped on the dashboard and it took every ounce of self control in her body not to sprint to the front door. 

Kermit had been with her since high school, housing thousands of memories from her first drunken kiss to her first DUI, both of which happened on the same night, and despite what everyone else had said about it falling apart, Haseul refused to let it go, spending what little money she had on its repairs and maintenance. 

It was a Friday afternoon in the middle of September when Haseul pulled into her parking spot and she let her head hit the steering wheel, utterly exhausted from the week. She had just returned from her classes and work and the mere thought of the assignments that were due that upcoming week was enough to make her tear up. Haseul shut her eyes and let out a deep sigh before pulling herself back up and letting her head hit the back of her seat. But when she opened her eyes, she was immediately greeted by the sight of Sooyoung’s face pressed up against her window and she jumped in shock, clutching her chest.

Sooyoung just raised a brow in amusement before gesturing to the window and Haseul frowned, turning the hand crank. 

“You scared me!” Sooyoung smirked, putting a hand on the roof of her car and leaning in towards her. She should’ve been expecting her.

“Did you forget what today was?” Haseul hummed in thought, well aware of the answer but not wanting to say it.

“...Happy birthday?” She immediately regretted it, fearing it would incite Sooyoung’s anger but thankfully, she just laughed.

“When did you become so cheeky?” And she turned around and left, Haseul staring after her in a confusion that soon ended when Sooyoung climbed into the passenger seat and threw her backpack in the backseat. She then took Haseul’s phone off of the dock and snapped her own phone in before pulling on her seat belt. “Drive.” She demanded, any remnants of playfulness far gone from her voice as she pointed to the map on her phone.

The last place Haseul expected to turn into was a Party City and she looked at Sooyoung in confusion as she calmly unbuckled her seat belt and climbed out of the car. 

“Wait!” Haseul called out after her as she bumbled out of the car. Sooyoung stopped at the door to let her catch up and Haseul jogged to her side. “Why are we here? Is this where our next victim is?” She asked in a hushed voice and Sooyoung rolled her eyes as they walked through the sliding doors. 

“First of all, don’t call them our ‘victims’, okay? I select them very carefully so that that’s not the case…” Haseul furrowed her brows but Sooyoung just continued, turning into an aisle. “And no, he’s not here.” 

“Then why are we here?” Sooyoung smiled and stopped in front of a shelf. 

“Well, you’ve had your training... so I figured we should graduate you from the plastic bag.” She pulled a mask off of the hook and held it in front of Haseul’s face before pursing her lips and picking another one. “You didn’t think I’d let you help me without a proper disguise, did you?”

 

* * *

 

Haseul was not happy and she sat there stubbornly as Sooyoung tried to force the mask into her hands. 

“Just put it on!” But Haseul was adamant, more whiny and less frightened due to her fatigue.  

“No, I hate it!” Sooyoung groaned, pulling her own mask on. They had been sitting in front of the dark house for at least five minutes now and Sooyoung was getting a little frustrated at Haseul’s obstinance. The knife that was hidden in her boot pressed against her skin, teasing her.

“It’s cute! It suits you!” And again, Haseul just shook her head and Sooyoung’s fingers inched towards the handle. She never wanted to hurt the girl, just planned to scare her, but before she could pull it out, the porch light suddenly flickered on, flooding the front lawn. “Get down!”

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Haseul immediately slid down her seat and held her breath, watching as Sooyoung struggled to fold her lanky body. 

“Put the fucking mask on.” She whispered loudly and finally Haseul huffed, pulling the pigeon mask over her face. 

“There, you happy?” Sooyoung raised a finger to silence her and she listened carefully at the muffled voices outside. 

“He still has the kid.” She muttered and bit her lip in thought as Haseul stared on in confusion, unable to see Sooyoung’s face through her goat mask.

“Huh?” Sooyoung ignored her, continuing to pore over her quiet thoughts until her eyes suddenly lit up and she turned to Haseul.

“Okay, I’ll take care of him and you go get the kid.” 

“What?” Sooyoung growled in frustration, making Haseul flinch. 

“Just get the fucking kid! Now!” Haseul didn’t have time to ask any more questions as Sooyoung suddenly pushed her door open and brandished her knife, making her way up the driveway. And Haseul threw her own door open, following her every move and leaving her door open to avoid making noise, still completely unsure of what she was supposed to do. 

And then she saw her. The pigtailed girl from the news. Except she wasn’t bearing her trademark pigtails and her hair was a knotted mess. Her face looked long and sullen and her chubby cheeks seemed to have nearly disappeared in the month she had been declared missing. Her bright smile was replaced by shaky chapped lips and Haseul’s heart ached at the sight of her, subconsciously clenching her fists as she made her way up the driveway. And her nails dug themselves even further in her palm when she saw the man that she was with. The same man from the television.

The girl saw her first and she widened her eyes in fear but stood her ground, not saying a word to her father who was now busying himself with something in the backseat as Haseul approached her, raising a finger to her beak.

She beckoned to her and the girl glanced at her father before looking back at Haseul desperately. Haseul pointed to Sooyoung, letting the girl’s eyes follow the direction of her fingers and at the sight of the armed goat, she quickly stepped away from the car and towards Haseul, her tiny hands quickly finding their way into Haseul’s, much to her surprise.

The two of them walked quietly but briskly down the driveway but before Haseul was able to get her into the backseat, a booming shout made her freeze. 

“Hey, where are you taking my fucking kid?” 

Haseul whipped around in fear but before she could answer, Sooyoung had beat her to it, grabbing him by the hair on the back of his head with her empty hand. 

"Away from you, asshole." She spit out and before he could react, she pulled his hair back and slammed his head hard against the car door, rendering him unconscious. Haseul flinched again at the sound before turning back to see the panic stricken girl. 

Her wide eyes shook and without a second thought, Haseul pushed the girl's head into her stomach, shielding her eyes from the scene that was unfolding in front of her. 

"Hey, it's okay." She said softly. "You're okay now." The girl just nodded into her shirt and Haseul watched as Sooyoung easily threw the man over her shoulder before heading towards the car.

She popped open the trunk and stared at the space for a moment before attempting to cram the man in. 

"Fuck, your trunk is small as shit!" And Haseul moved her hands to the girl's ears. 

"Sooyoung!" Sooyoung just huffed in annoyance and she tried to slam the door shut only for the door to bounce back up because of his leg that still poked out. The sound made Haseul’s head whip towards the back of the car, fearing another repair. “Hey, be careful!” Growling, Sooyoung kicked his leg in before shutting the door again and making her way to the passenger seat, taking off her mask.

"We have to get going. Come on." Haseul let go of the girl and helped her into her seat before climbing into her own and pulling off her own mask to see properly. 

"So, where to next?" Haseul asked, looking over at Sooyoung and Sooyoung finally turned around, acknowledging the little girl who blinked, seeming to recognize her. 

"Hi, Chaewon. We're going to take you back to your mom now." 

They dropped her off at the front door and watched from afar as the girl stood on her tiptoes to ring the doorbell and Haseul smiled at the sight of her mother sweeping her up in her arms and kissing her on the forehead. She scanned the street for a moment, trying to figure out who was responsible for her happiness but seeing no one around, her mother brought them into the house shutting the door behind her. 

 

* * *

 

"How do you know them?" Haseul finally asked when they hit a red light and Sooyoung just sighed, fidgeting with the mask in her hands. 

"You know the support group I run?" Haseul nodded and she pursed her lips before continuing.

"Well, they've been coming to it for years… The guy's a real shithead even now that he's not living with them anymore." Haseul hummed in response, thinking about how quickly the girl had turned to a masked stranger just to get away from her father, how her hands shook in her's and how desperate she was for just a taste of security.

She couldn't even imagine being in her shoes but before she could speak, Sooyoung echoed what she was thinking.

"He deserves whatever's coming to him." 

It turned out that he wasn't an anomaly, Sooyoung always having picked her prey from the names that were cried onto her shoulder. And she targeted the worst of the worst, gritting her teeth and bearing through the suffering of others at the support group with the promise that they'd be free soon enough. 

Haseul learned that night that Sooyoung always kept her promises.

When they finally pulled up to the edge of the woods, Haseul shuddered at the familiar darkness before stepping out of the car to help Sooyoung but she was stopped before she shut the door.

"Mask on." Sooyoung ordered.

"But there's no one around!"

"Mask on." She said again through gritted teeth this time and without hesitation, Haseul just slipped it on, not wanting to anger her now that she was so serious. "Just go get my backpack and I'll get the guy." 

Haseul nodded in response, reaching into the backseat to pull out her huge backpack and she pushed her arms through the straps, waddling over to Sooyoung at the trunk. She stood there, clutching the straps and watching in awe as Sooyoung threw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

"Okay, let's-" Sooyoung paused, looking at Haseul nearly being swallowed by the backpack for a moment and finally realizing how small she really was behind her big mouth. Haseul stared up at her curiously. 

"What?" Sooyoung opened her mouth but she shut it immediately, shaking her head before heading into the woods. 

"Nothing, let's get moving." 

It was her third time in those damn woods but Haseul still couldn't help but to jump at the random cries and cracks that crept from the trees. 

"Sooyoung… are you sure we're alone?" She asked quietly as she ambled on behind Sooyoung, wrapping her arms around her chest.

"Yes, I've done this so many times. Don't worry." But Haseul wasn't worried about getting caught, she was worried about getting killed. In a world where demons and human sacrifices where still apparently prevalent, thousands of possibilities of other terrible things flooded her mind and she shivered to herself at the thought of them. It was a loud hoot was what finally sent her jogging up to Sooyoung and the other girl turned in surprise at her presence and before turning a little warm when the smaller girl snaked her arm around Sooyoung's, hugging it tightly. 

Sooyoung opened her mouth to tease her but upon feeling her rapid heartbeat against her arm, she stopped. Haseul was surprised at the softness that then fell from the goat's lips. 

"Are you okay?" Haseul nodded.

"Just a little scared." 

They soon made their way back to that clearing and Sooyoung immediately dropped his body onto the ground and got to work starting a fire as Haseul wandered around. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sooyoung pressed when she saw Haseul staring down at the man. She really couldn’t afford Haseul to pass out this time, not when she was her ride and Sooyoung didn’t know how to drive a car.

"I'm just thinking…"

"About what? He's a shitty person, Haseul. We'll be doing the world a favor." Haseul shook her head.

"No, I know." She said softly and her breath hitched upon imagining the sight of her stained hands once again and that god awful smell. "I'm just not good with blood…" 

Sooyoung let out a sigh, having never anticipated this possibility. If anything, she would’ve expected the girl to go running the moment she looked away but here she still was, worrying about something as insignificant as spilling blood in the wide scale of this entire situation. Not the demons or the death. Just the blood. 

But there was no time to properly comfort her and clouds began to tease the edge of the round moon, making Sooyoung grow a little antsy. 

The air became chillier and the breeze began to pick up a little as Sooyoung pulled her book out from the backpack Haseul wore and flipped it to the correct page before reading a passage aloud. She then turned the girl around to face her and removed her hand from the backpack strap, placing the knife in her palm before putting a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t want to yell at her again, especially about something she couldn’t control, so she opted to take a new approach, hoping that Haseul would register the warmth she was trying to exude from behind her goat mask.

“I won’t make you look this time, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

With her confirmation, Sooyoung grabbed her armed hand and brought them both to their knees above the body. And Haseul took a proper look at him for the first and last time, at his dark brows and his relaxed face. It wasn’t fair that he looked so peaceful when she had held his shaking daughter in her arms, when she had seen the fear and pain that had flickered through her eyes and heard the stories that Sooyoung had told her. It wasn’t fair that someone so young was forced to bear a weight that even Haseul’s knees would buckle under. Her hand clutched the handle a little tighter and Sooyoung aimed it above his chest before looking down at Haseul who had turned her head towards her shoulder. 

“Are you ready?” 

“Yes.” 

Sooyoung was surprised to feel the helpful pull of the blade instead of the lax hand of before and she looked down at Haseul who gagged at the sound of it entering his body. Sooyoung opened her mouth to speak, planning on commenting on her sudden contribution or even offering some words of comfort, but unsure of what to say, she just guided Haseul up, keeping her eyes still focused on her and away from the blood that was now spilling from his body. 

“Thanks for your help. You could just wait for me now. I have to do this part alone.” She said as she gently pushed her towards the trees and Haseul watched as she picked up the body, flinching when she dropped in into the fire. 

Sooyoung opened the book once more and as the ancient words came spilling out of her mouth, they grew louder and louder, booming through the woods and Haseul wondered how the hell no one had noticed before if this was a monthly occurrence. And like before, she felt her power, squinting through her mask as she watched her work. 

Only this time, Haseul wasn’t so afraid, not after realizing how soft Sooyoung really was for her and that the man who lied there helplessly wasn’t just an innocent bystander. 

Haseul suddenly laughed at the situation, at how preposterous it all was and how she had been dragged into it. It didn’t seem real at all and for some reason that Red Velvet song wriggled its way into her head and stayed there, cursing her with a chorus that wouldn’t quit.

"Zimzalabim zim zim zala bim.." Haseul sang quietly under her breath as she watched Sooyoung finish her incantation and there was a sudden bright flash of light and the body disappeared as the winds died down and the fire withdrew from the sky. Sooyoung turned to her with a puzzled expression on her face and Haseul became a little embarrassed upon realizing she had been heard.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Haseul just shyly kicked at a pebble on the ground and Sooyoung felt her heart grow a little warm at the gesture. _How was it possible that someone so old could act like such a child?_

"Sorry, I felt a little left out…" 

Sooyoung just sighed in feigned exasperation, fighting the itching smile at the corner of her mouth that'd come from the girl's ridiculousness before pulling her backpack off of Haseul's shoulders and taking off her mask. 

"Come on, let's go home."

They slowly made their way back out of the woods as the crackle of the fire began to die down and far up above the trees, there was a chuckle that was only heard by those it allowed to hear it.

"Zim Zala Bim, huh? It's been a long time since we've been properly summoned." The demon pulled her triangle lips into a smirk as she squatted on the branch, watching the two climb into the car. Her purple haired sister laughed in response, playfully falling back and letting herself hang upside down by the crook of her knees. 

"We've still been finding work though so that's good!" 

"What do you mean _we_?" The first demon scoffed as she looked down at her sister. "When's the last time you got a catch?" 

"You always underestimate me, Zala!" She pouted before pulling herself upright. "I actually have quite recently!" 

"And what’s the deal? Did you do something stupid like switch their left and right feet again?" Zala snickered and her sister pushed her.

"You're one to talk after constantly just asking for human sacrifices… At least I'm still always thinking of fresh ideas!" 

"And fresh can still be stupid, Bim! Have you heard of Whole Foods?"  She ignored her comment. 

"Anyway, I watched yours! Stayed for the whole blood and gore show and I'm sooo bored… Can we please go watch mine now?" Bim begged and Zala rolled her eyes.

"Fine." And with a giggle and a fist pump, the two disappeared into the cold air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this was a little long but now introducing the trickster demons aka hyejoo n yerim!! also i learned how to insert pictures heh so super EXCITED at the potential
> 
> as always smash that kudos button below n leave me feedback whether it be here on thru my cc!!!
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


	4. nightwatcher

They never talked about it and though Jinsoul was eternally grateful for it, not wanting to admit that she remembered nothing, she was also immensely curious, the blankness of that night crossing her mind at least once a day as she sat down next to her gray haired friend. She would watch as her slender fingers would pull her hair behind her ear, lightly stroking her cheekbone, or as she would take her bottom lip between her teeth, furrowing her brows in deep concentration.

And she couldn’t help but to imagine, feeling the softness of her skin beneath her fingertips.

Jinsoul caught herself staring at Jungeun more, as if she hadn’t already been before, whipping her head away every time the other girl would slightly turn in her direction. And Jungeun would notice of course, only brushing it off with a smile before leaning in towards the other girl’s ear to ask a hushed question about the content on the board or make a witty comment about their professor’s droning voice. Jinsoul’s heart would jump at the feeling of her warm breath upon her ear.

It felt like they were trapped in purgatory, both having vied for each other’s affection for years yet even as their two hands rested side by side with each other on the desk, neither girl did anything but sneak glances at the mere inches that kept them apart.

Jungeun was nodding off for the third time that day, her cheek buried sleepily in the palm of her hand and her eyes barely propped open when she saw Jinsoul leaning her arm over, scribbling something in the corner of her notebook.

_Wake up! :]_

Jungeun couldn’t hold back the grin that overcame her face and she made a show of sitting up straight and folding her hands on the table before looking over at Jinsoul and sticking out her tongue.

“Good girl.” Jinsoul mouthed to her and as she returned her eyes to the board, Jungeun felt the corners of her mouth stretch even wider.

She was gently shaken awake forty minutes later and Jungeun jolted up, staring at the nearly empty room before meeting the blonde’s eyes and lightly punching her in the shoulder.

“Why did you let me sleep?” She huffed, gathering her things and Jinsoul just laughed softly, slipping an arm through the strap of her backpack.

“You look like you needed it.”

Jungeun had just clocked in and pulled her apron over her head when her phone dinged in her pocket and she stopped behind the front counter. She smiled upon seeing Jinsoul’s name on the screen, her eyes lingering for a moment on her contact photo before swiping her phone open to find pictures of that day’s notes.

_this is all the fun u missed out on today_

She felt her heart warm at her thoughtfulness and bit her lip for a moment, trying to craft the perfect response.

_a̶w̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶I̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶_

_t̶h̶a̶n̶k̶s̶,̶ ̶u̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶s̶t̶!̶_

_maybe u should’ve woken me up then_ 🙄

 

* * *

 

Haseul was sitting at the bar of the cafe again staring intently at her laptop screen as she scrolled through articles after articles of the local crime from the years before and it was awful, disgusting really, the kind of things people would do. She couldn’t even fathom the damage that was done, let alone the fact that nothing was done about it, them getting away with it with a mere slap on the wrist only to return to the world and do it again and again.

But despite the plethora of assorted crimes, ages, and backgrounds, each of these people had one thing in common and it was that they’d always suddenly disappear. And it raised no one’s attention, the dates and areas having been dispersed just enough to avoid suspicion. Sooyoung was good at what she was doing and no one would have found anything unless they were actively looking. Just like Haseul had been doing.

She was deep in thought when she suddenly felt a pair of hands grip her shoulders and Haseul whipped around, holding her fists up in defense until she met that familiar smirk.

“What are you looking at?” Sooyoung asked, pulling out the chair next to her and dropping her bag on the table as Haseul quickly switched the tab to her paper.

“Just homework.” Sooyoung raised a brow but didn’t press.

“Right…”

Haseul watched her, waiting for her to say more but she just shrugged and pulled out her own laptop, opening up her assignment. And Haseul was taken aback, in disbelief that Sooyoung had just come to hang out when she had never interacted with her besides their secret nights in the woods.

“What are you doing here?” The words slipped out much more harshly than she had intended and she opened her eyes wide in anticipation as Sooyoung paused.

She didn’t want to say that the sight of the small girl perched upon that stool with her legs dangling so playfully had compelled her to come through the door.

“What? Did you want me to leave?” Sooyoung teased, pretending to get up and Haseul grabbed her arm, pulling her back down.

“No! I was just wondering!”

Sooyoung laughed, sitting back down and Haseul just huffed under her breath, returning her attention to the paper she was pretending to write. But the words she had found such pride in the days before now just looked like letters that were strewn across the surface of an alphabet soup and she struggled rereading it, finding error after error.

She was tapping absentmindedly at the right arrow key when she felt the other girl lean in again, peeking at her screen. From the corner of her eye, she saw her leaning on her hand, watching as Haseul worked through her paper, her own laptop having fallen asleep long ago.

“Did you need something?”.

“Nope, just bored.” Haseul gestured to her sleeping laptop.

“Then do your homework...” Sooyoung rolled her eyes, running her hand through her hair.

“Why else do you think I’m bored?” Haseul didn’t know how to respond to that, just turning back to her laptop but unaccustomed to being ignored, Sooyoung whined. “Pay attention to me!”

“Where are your friends?” Haseul muttered half jokingly as she looked around the room and Sooyoung crossed her arms, glaring at her.

“Fine, I’ll let you work.” And she did, the two girls doing their work in relative silence besides the occasional Twitter breaks that Sooyoung would take where she would slide her phone onto Haseul’s keyboard, forcing her to look at the memes that were on her timeline.

Despite how annoying it was, it was strangely endearing and Haseul would let out a quiet laugh each time before pushing her phone back to her. And eventually, Haseul gave in and just shut her laptop, the two spending the remaining hour showing each other pictures on their phone until Jinsoul finally arrived, curiosity consuming her at the sight of Sooyoung and Haseul laughing with one another.

Sooyoung watched as she whisked her away, a little sad at her loss of company before her eyes strayed back to the coffee cup that Haseul had left on the counter. She picked it up, hoping to chase her down but upon seeing the little numbers scrawled on the sleeve paired with a drawing of a wink, her heart warmed in realization.

 

* * *

 

 

Jungeun was now met with a cup of coffee on her desk every morning when she slunk into her seat late. And Jinsoul would always be staring at the board as though she had no idea where the cup had come from. As if Jungeun couldn’t see her constant glances from the corner of her eye.

“Thanks.” She would always say, hitting Jinsoul lightly in the arm and Jinsoul would just smile in response, turning her head down and pretending to write her notes when she was just hiding her red face.

And Sooyoung became a regular presence in Haseul's life, always passing by the glass walls to see the tiny brunette in the seat she always sat in before coming in. Haseul's eyes would always light up upon meeting Sooyoung, her body nearly bursting in excitement with new story to share or a new meme to show her. And Sooyoung was the same, neither girl really shutting up in the other's company, often being shot glares when one would laugh too loud or the other would yell in response.

It was October when Sooyoung came knocking and this time, Haseul was ready, pulling on her shoes and a hefty black windbreaker before pulling open the door. Sooyoung did a once over, laughing to herself as Haseul walked into the hall.

"Do you have any clothes that actually fit you?" She asked and Haseul huffed in response, eyeing the crop top that she wore beneath her leather jacket.

"I could ask you the same thing."

The bantering stopped the moment Sooyoung pulled the mask over her face and they were soon in a town a few miles west of them, waiting patiently in a deserted grocery store parking lot for the owner of the white Honda to come out. And soon enough, she did and as the store lights went out, so did she and Sooyoung quickly tossed her over her shoulder before dropping her into Haseul's trunk.

Without being told, Haseul started the engine at the slam of the trunk and Sooyoung smiled as she fell back into her seat, taking off her mask.

"You're getting the hang of this."

They were soon in the woods once again, strolling down the familiar path almost as casually as if they were taking a hike, if not for the unconscious woman that Sooyoung wore over her shoulder. And Haseul just babbled on and on, talking about her car and her work, relishing in the silence that Sooyoung adopted with the goat. Sooyoung just listened to her quietly, watching her with an endearment that she couldn't see behind her mask.

And when they fell on their knees again, Sooyoung's hand enveloping Haseul's as they aimed the knife above her limp body, Sooyoung couldn't help but to lean over, pushing Haseul's head into her shoulder this time instead of waiting for her to come.

And as the blood came spurting out of her body and Haseul flinched at the sound, Sooyoung pulled her in closer, gently holding her head until the fountain died down before reluctantly releasing her to the trees once again.

She couldn't shake the fluttering in her chest.

To Haseul's surprise, Sooyoung's silence continued after she yanked the mask off and the two walked back to the car to the soundtrack of Haseul's voice. And as she drove them back, Haseul couldn't help but to continually peek over the other girl, just waiting for a snide comment or a witty quip that never came.

"Is everything alright?" Haseul asked once the engine had shut down and they sat quietly in the structure. Sooyoung whipped her head up, staring at Haseul with a funny look on her face before quickly answering.

"Everything's fine."

They walked down the hall together, dropping quick goodbyes as each girl went into their own apartment and Haseul sighed as she dropped her keys onto the counter, pondering over what might have happened that night. She sunk into her couch, staring blankly at the black television screen and sulked a bit, wondering if she'd annoyed Sooyoung or done something wrong. But she didn't have long to muse.

Suddenly, there were three sharp knocks on her door and Haseul jolted at the sudden noise, quickly making her way back to the door and trying to figure out who'd be coming at such a late hour.

And she was surprised to see Sooyoung standing there, smiling sheepishly at her.

“Hey, do you want to get something to drink?”

 

* * *

 

Jinsoul yawned as she stepped off the bus, swinging her bag over her shoulder and walking lacksidacially down the street to her apartment.

After her long day of work, all her tired bones craved was the comfort beneath her sheets. Besides the distant hum of traffic and the ambient chirping of crickets, it was quiet and the streets were empty, the dim light from the lamps doing little to alleviate the darkness. But Jinsoul didn't seem too bothered, just humming to herself as she turned the corner.

She passed by Haseul's apartment complex, looking up at her window on the second floor as she always did to find the lights off. It wouldn't have been a big surprise if Haseul had already turned in for the night.

There was a sudden rustle and her head whipped to the hedges that lined the other side of the street. She moved to clutch her bag tightly in front of her chest. And what nonchalance that she had was quickly replaced by dread as she watched the leaves continue to follow her carefully, taking quicker steps until she finally broke out into a jog.

Her apartment was only a block away so she would be there in no time. But at the sound of her shoes slamming into the sidewalk, the masked figure finally jumped out from the bushes and she screamed upon seeing him, his sprinting bringing him throttling towards her quicker than she could get away.

Despite the aching in her legs and the stitch in her side as she pressed on, he was still able to catch up and he grabbed her by the back of her shirt, pushing her roughly against the brick wall. Jinsoul groaned in pain as her elbows scraped against the wall and she felt him pull her hair back, exposing her neck before pressing a blade against it. She gulped at the cold sensation, trying to steady her breathing as he leaned in.

His fingers found his way to her bag and he gently tugged it from her, Jinsoul quickly letting go because she wasn't stupid. And satisfied, he stepped away for just a moment, letting Jinsoul turn back around to face him, his eyes still pierced into hers in an angry warning as he sifted through the bag. She felt frozen, too scared to move in fear of the knife finding its way into her back so she just watched, wincing each time something clattered onto the ground.

But she didn't have what he wanted and soon he became much more frustrated, violently pulling things out before just throwing the whole bag onto the ground.

In an instant, she was pressed back against the wall, the blade pushed even deeper against her neck as he leaned in towards her, his eyes moving wildly.

"Where is your money?"

"I don't have any." She was barely able to choke out and he growled, the smell of alcohol emanating from his breath making her nearly gag.

"You're lying."

"I'm not! I promise!" And he just shook his head, motioning to the Balenciaga cap she had on and the MK that lie desolate on the street. She wanted to kick herself for looking so damn expensive when the same things that made it look like she was rich were the reasons why she could never be.

"Where are you hiding your money?" He asked again, now seething and Jinsoul nearly burst into tears.

"Please, I really don't have any money!" The knife was nearly choking her now and her skin stung as a little blood was drawn. She flinched as he huffed in impatience and his eyes darkened, his grip on the handle tightening. Jinsoul squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the worst when she suddenly felt a rush of cold air as he was wrenched from her.

Her eyes flew open to see him lying on his back in the street and she whipped her head up at the sound of a screech in the sky. She watched as the large bird opened its wings before diving back down again, baring its sharp talons and running them deep across his face.

The man screamed in pain, clutching his head as he writhed around and Jinsoul stared in utter disbelief as the owl landed on the lamppost, cocking its head as it looked down at her.

"Thank you." She uttered softly, watching as its beady eyes bore into hers and she quickly turned around, gathering her things from the ground before running all the way home.

 

* * *

 

 

Much to the shock of Sooyoung, Haseul was completely plastered within the hour, slurring her words and giggling incessantly at everything she had to say. And in her drunken haze, Sooyoung found her absolutely adorable, how her eyes squinted with glee and how she would tilt her head forward when she laughed.

Haseul was no different, admiring Sooyoung's goofy smile and her toned arms and she couldn’t control herself, being as touchy as she always was when she drank. Her hands found every excuse to lay themselves on Sooyoung, slapping her arm when she said something ridiculous or pushing herself up with a hand on Sooyoung’s knee when she found herself growing unsteady. Sooyoung absolutely loved it, melting into each touch as transient as they were.

By the end of the night, Haseul had buried her face into her side and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist, barely standing upright if not for the support of Sooyoung’s arms and the two slowly made their way home, relishing in the cool night air.

Haseul finally peeled herself from Sooyoung when they reached her front door and she fumbled with her keys, dropping them to the ground and nearly falling with them when she tried to pick them up.

“Here, I got it.” Sooyoung helped her up, pulling the keys from her fingers and unlocking the door. She stared into the dark apartment as Haseul took the keys back from her, her fingers lingering on her hands for a moment. “Will you be okay alone?”

Haseul nodded, giddy at the concern in her furrowed brows and her pursed lips and just delirious with happiness and barely cognizant of what she was doing, she leaned up on her tiptoes, pressing a light peck to Sooyoung’s cheek.

“Thanks, I had fun tonight.” Haseul said softly as she pulled away and Sooyoung stared at her, wide eyed in shock and unable to choke out more than a good night, as she watched her stumble into her apartment before shutting the door behind her with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a light chapter!! pure fluff n happy moments! hope u enjoyed it
> 
> and as always smash that kudos button below n leave me feedback whether it be here on thru my cc!!!
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


	5. secrets

After learning what had happened to Jinsoul the next evening, Haseul came banging on her door and at the sight of her bandaged neck, she fumed, bombarding the girl with questions. 

“What did he look like?” 

“I don’t know! He was wearing a mask!” 

“How about his height? His clothes? Was there anything you remembered?” Jinsoul sighed in frustration.

“I don’t know? He was drunk? I already talked to the police about this! I don’t remember anything!” Haseul huffed, making Jinsoul raise her brow. “Why are you asking me all this anyway? It’s not like you can do anything about it.” Flustered, Haseul laughed nervously before heading towards her kitchen, digging through her pantry.

“You’re right! Anyway, do you want something to eat?” 

They sat on the couch, absentmindedly watching the show that was on her television screen as they munched on her leftover popcorn and Jinsoul suddenly gasped, turning over to Haseul. 

“Wait, there was a bird!” Haseul’s eyes widened in panic, thinking about the mask that was shoved in the glove compartment of her car. 

“What do you mean?” She asked cautiously and Jinsoul pulled her legs up in excitement, sitting on her feet. 

“There was a big ass owl!” She opened her arms wide as if to demonstrate its size and Haseul deflated in relief. “It just came out of nowhere and fucked up his face.” 

Haseul looked at her incredulously and Jinsoul furrowed her brows in thought as if she could barely believe it as well. 

“... Did you tell the police?”

“They wouldn’t believe me.” And Haseul pursed her lips, slowly stringing together all the information that she had been given before getting up to leave. 

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay.” Jinsoul turned around in her seat, putting her chin on the couch cushion as she watched Haseul pull her jacket on. 

“Where are you going?” She whined and Haseul gave her a funny look as she rushed out the door. 

“I forgot I needed to do something!”

 

* * *

 

Sooyoung was walking home from her evening jog and at the sight of the green Beetle parked in front of the bar down the street, she smiled, pulling out her phone to text the other girl.

_out drinking again? don’t u have classes tmr?_

She didn’t expect to see the bird mask pop up from the back window and frowning, she began her brisk walk towards the car, afraid of what the girl was up to. Her phone dinged with a few responses that she quickly glanced at before coming up to the car.

_yep! but don’t worry i’m not gonna drink_

_just meeting up w/ a friend_

Haseul was still staring down at her phone when she heard a loud knock on her window and she yelped, clutching her heart at the sight of Sooyoung. 

“Stop doing that!” She yelled and she reached over to unlock the door. Sooyoung pulled it open before she crawled in, yanking the mask off of her face.

“What the fuck are you doing?” She hissed when she met her startled eyes and Haseul smiled sheepishly, poking her two fingers together.

“Um, just staking out...” Sooyoung narrowed her eyes.

“Who?”

“Some jerk attacked Jinsoul last night around this area and she said he was drunk so...” 

“You assumed he’d come drinking again at this exact bar on a Monday evening…” Haseul growled, pushing Sooyoung away. 

“Well, it sounds stupid when you say it like that!” At the sound of her whiny voice, Sooyoung's anger quickly disappeared and she thought for a moment, playing with the mask in her lap. 

“I’ll help you.” She smiled after a while and Haseul sighed in relief until Sooyoung held up the mask, her face suddenly turning serious again. “But never wear this shit unless you’re supposed to, you understand?”

It was Haseul’s second time in Sooyoung’s apartment but having rushed out so quickly last time, she wasn’t able to realize how much she fucking hated the place. Dozens of birds lined the shelves almost as if they were perched upon a telephone wire and Haseul grimaced at the sight, taking in the animated owls on her dish towels and the dove salt and pepper set that sat on her table.

Sooyoung looked at her, chuckling a little as she led her to her bedroom and out of Haseul’s personal hellscape and when they were finally in the safety of her room, Haseul sat on her bed as she shut the door.

“That’s right. You don’t like birds, huh?” 

“I think they’re kind of scary.” Haseul admitted and that prompted Sooyoung to shake her head as she unplugged her laptop and brought it over. “What? Look at their beady eyes and their sharp beaks. Just terrifying!”

“What if I told you that you look like one?” Sooyoung teased and Haseul pushed her into the bed screeching. “Oh god, you sound like one too!” Haseul whined, pummeling her with her tiny fists and Sooyoung burst into laughter, grabbing her by the wrists so that she would cease her attack. “I’m kidding!” 

It was when they stopped that Haseul realized she was now straddling Sooyoung and they froze, both girls staring wide eyed at one another before she quickly climbed off. Sooyoung immediately sat up after her, clearing her throat before pulling her laptop in front of the two.

“We have work to do.”

 

* * *

 

 

When they returned to school the next day, Jungeun bit her lip, frowning with the bandage that would appear each time Jinsoul stretched her neck and upon meeting her eyes once again, Jinsoul rolled hers.

“Seriously, don’t worry. I’m fine!” 

“I’m not worrying!” Jungeun huffed, turning back to face the board but the rest of the class continued that way, with Jungeun stealing glances at her injury and Jinsoul pushing her away.  

When Jinsoul climbed off the bus that night, she held her tote bag tightly to her chest, too afraid to carry around brand names anymore and began her walk home, now turning every so often to make sure she wasn’t being followed again. And though the streets remained empty and the bushes looked clear, she couldn’t help but to clutch the paring knife she had brought from her kitchen tightly in her coat pocket.

Jinsoul couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that enveloped her chest.

Something was wrong.

A giggle suddenly echoed from the sky and she whipped her head up, turning in a circle to see that there was nothing there. 

“Hello?” She called out, her voice shaking as she clutched the knife tighter. There was no response.

At the sound of a loud crack and glass shattering, she jumped and turned to see that the bulb of the lamp at the end of the street had gone out, enveloping that area in darkness. Jinsoul sighed for a moment, grateful that it wasn’t something else but then the lamp next to it popped as well and the one next to that and Jinsoul’s eyes widened in terror as they moved closer and closer before she finally broke into a sprint, the darkness following her close behind. 

The laughter returned, only now it seemed to follow the losing light, gaining on her, and Jinsoul forced her eyes forward, too frightened to see what would be waiting for her if she turned around. 

She turned the nearest corner as the final light went out behind her and there she was plunged into blackness. 

Jinsoul never remembered her neighborhood being this dark and she reached into her bag, sifting through it helplessly and fumbling with her phone, trying to turn her flashlight on.

And at the tap of a button, a bright light shone through the back of her phone and she stepped forward hesitantly, following the short beam. If anything, this only made it more scary and shadows would lengthen in the distance as she came closer. 

It was suddenly too quiet. 

Jinsoul forced herself to steady her breathing as continued her walk home but no matter how long she walked, she never seemed to arrive there. 

It was when she flashed the light up at the sign when she realized she had turned into the wrong street. 

Jinsoul looked down at her phone, taking in the 2% battery and furrowed her brows, tapping desperately at her screen and waiting for the maps to come up. She prayed so hard that it would last long enough. But before the maps fully loaded, her phone died and soon its black screen fell into conformity with the night and she dropped it back into her bag, screaming. 

There was no way she could get home now and she knew that Haseul would scold her for never learning how to get around with her maps so Jinsoul just decided to give up in the exact spot that she stood. 

She lied down on the empty street, waiting for death to take her.

 

* * *

 

 

“Don’t say a word.” Bim growled, pursing her lips at the sight and Zala smirked at her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. 

“I’m not gonna say shit.” The two stood, watching as the girl lied splayed across the pavement and Zala yawned, pretending to check her watch. “Are we just going to stay here? Or…”

“Let’s just wait. Maybe something will happen.” Bim pleaded hopefully, desperate for some entertainment and her eyes widened excitedly when the girl lifted her hand. But instead of moving to get back up, she just scratched intensely at her scalp for a moment before flopping her arm back on the ground and shutting her eyes. 

“Or maybe not?” Zala poked at her, barely able to choke down her laughter now and Bim rolled her eyes. 

“Fine, let’s go.” 

They had only started to leave when there was a sudden whoosh from the air and Bim pulled Zala back to see the owl slowly land beside the girl’s body. Bim couldn’t hold back her smile as the bird tugged lightly on the girl’s jacket with her beak. “There she is!” She exclaimed, clapping and the bird turned to her, its beady eyes staring until Bim flashed it a thumbs up. 

After some groaning, the girl finally lifted herself up, brushing the dirt off of her clothes before following the waddling bird, talking softly to it as they made their way back down the street. Bim just kept giggling at the sight, hitting Zala in the arm as they disappeared into the distance.

“They’re so cute!” She exclaimed and Zala pushed her arm away, scrunching her face in mockery. She hated when Bim was right. 

“Okay, we get it! Let’s go home.” She muttered, turning back around but Bim grabbed her arm, her eyes wild with glee.

“No.” She laughed. “Let’s follow them.”

* * *

 

 

A few days passed and it was nearing 2AM when Sooyoung was just beginning to fall asleep and her phone rang. She sat up, groaning in frustration as she pulled it to her ear.

“What?” She growled. There was a pause for a moment before the other person responded and Sooyoung immediately softened at the sound of her voice.

“Sooyoung?” 

“What is it, Haseul?” Sooyoung asked gently as she fell back into her bed, rubbing her eyes.

“Were you sleeping?” 

“No.” She lied. “Did you need something?” There was silence on the other line for a while as she mused over what to say.

“Um…” 

“What is it?” Sooyoung pressed, encouraging her to speak but Haseul was shy. 

“Promise you won’t laugh.” Her drowsiness disappeared with her growing curiosity and Sooyoung sat up, now more focused on the conversation.

“I won’t.” Haseul paused once again before finally speaking.

“Can you come over? I watched something scary…” Sooyoung smiled, biting back her laughter.

“Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

The door opened to a brightly lit living room and Haseul with her hoodie pulled tightly over her head and the strings tied neatly, her face barely poking out. She held a miniature baseball bat in one hand and at the sight of Sooyoung’s face, she lowered it in relief before letting the girl into her apartment. If the call had nearly made her burst out laughing, seeing Haseul like this was just unbearable.

Sooyoung took in the room as Haseul shut the door behind her, eyeing the curtains that were now sloppily taped shut and the toolbox that was poured onto the dining table, assorted batteries and screws teetering towards the edge.

She made Sooyoung stand with her as she shut the living room lights before grabbing her by the wrist and running into the bedroom, dragging her close behind. 

“What the hell did you watch?” Sooyoung asked as she watched Haseul carefully lock the bedroom door.

“Criminal Minds…”  

"Haseul, they're just people. It's not scary." She laughed, pulling her onto the bed and Haseul shook her head.

"No, people are scary. Probably scarier than your demons or whatever else is out there." She stared at her paused laptop screen for a moment before looking up at Sooyoung. "Can you think of another species that would hurt its own for no real reason?" 

Taking aback by the sudden seriousness in her voice, Sooyoung pondered over the question for a moment. 

"I guess not." 

Satisfied with her answer, Haseul scooted up the bed, crawling into her sheets and gesturing for Sooyoung to join her. 

"We have to finish this episode… I can't leave it unfinished or I'll be thinking about it all night." Sooyoung didn't need convincing, coming in after her and once they were settled, Haseul hit the space bar, letting the sounds come pouring from the speaker once again. 

Sooyoung didn't understand a thing, not with there only being fifteen minutes left so she just watched Haseul, the way that she would wince at the sudden sounds or turn her head away at the gore on the screen. Sooyoung slipped an arm around her shoulder, leaning onto the headboard as she grew a little sleepy and Haseul melted into the contact, letting her head fall onto her chest. 

She had made the right call in having Sooyoung come over, having already felt exponentially safer just being in her arms. 

When the ending theme began playing, Haseul shut her laptop and tilted her head up to speak only to find that Sooyoung had given herself up to sleep. She looked so peaceful but noting her awkward position, Haseul gently shook the girl awake.

"You're going to hurt your neck if you sleep like that." She said softly and Sooyoung nodded, letting her help down onto the mattress and lifting her head for the pillow that Haseul pushed under it. 

"Thank you." She muttered and the other girl smiled, pulling the covers up and over them.

"You're welcome." 

Haseul turned to face the wall, feeling a little too giddy to sleep but she was afraid to move, not wanting to wake Sooyoung again. 

And as if the other girl could hear her thoughts, she scooted closer, putting an arm over Haseul's waist and pulling her closer. She felt her press her chest into her back as she hugged Haseul tightly and enveloped in pure warmth, Haseul couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped her. Sooyoung shuffled a bit, mumbling into her head. 

"Did you say something?" 

"No." 

Sooyoung muttered something incomprehensible before nuzzling her chin above Haseul's head and then she finally drifted back to sleep, her soft breathing eventually bringing Haseul right along with her.

 

* * *

 

It was Halloween night and after hours of passing out candy, Jinsoul was hungry. But with it being too late to catch a bus and with her distrust of Uber, she resigned to rummaging through her cabinets and fridge. 

But they were literally empty. 

Half a carton of orange juice and a jar of mayo was all the remained in the fridge and only a bag cereal really popped out at her in her pantry. Jinsoul contemplated for a moment, staring carefully at the ingredients as though she was on an episode of Iron Chef before coming to her senses and putting them back where they belonged. 

She was not about to reenact that Junie B. Jones scene. 

But when she was stuffing her cereal back onto the shelf, she saw a yellow can poking out in the back. She reached her arm deep inside and pulled it out, dusting off the can and rolling it around in her hand as she looked for the expiration date.  

There was a sudden tap on her window and Jinsoul smiled, seeing her nightly visitor. 

"Hello!" She exclaimed, opening the window to let the owl in and it flew onto the kitchen table, lifting its head for Jinsoul to scratch beneath its chin. "I'm about to eat some peaches! Just trying to find out when it goes bad…" She continued turning it until she finally saw a fading blue print at the bottom on the can and she squinted, trying to figure out what it said. 

Jinsoul held it out to the owl as if it could understand. 

"Does this mean this expired in August or that I have until August?" She asked and the bird pecked at the numbers, prompting Jinsoul to reread it. "... Oh, that says 2008."

She was about to set the can down when her stomach growled again and a hand flew to her tummy as she eyed the can. 

"I mean, these things are meant to last for emergencies and stuff like that, right? I'm sure it's okay to eat." Jinsoul put her finger beneath the tab, pulling it open and at the crack, she saw fumes rise from the contents of the can. The owl hopped closer, its stare almost seeming disapproving and Jinsoul smiled sheepishly at it. "It probably fermented like a fine wine. No big deal." 

The owl nudged at the can, nearly spilling it onto the table and Jinsoul lightly pushed it away.

"Hey! Stop that." She picked up the can, no longer trusting that it would stay untouched, and Jinsoul peered at the bird as she walked into the kitchen to get a fork. 

But to her surprise, it followed her, finding a perch on her shoulder as she stuck the fork into the fruit but each time she pulled a peach out, it would peck at her fingers, making her drop it back in.

"Go away!" She tried to wave it off but its talons only gripped a little tighter onto her shoulder, making her tilt to the side. "Ow! 

The owl was unrelenting, continuously pecking at her hands and even when she ran, squatting in the corner with her face to the wall trying to eat, it came chasing after her, grabbing the back of her shirt with its talons and dragging her away.

Finally, among their push and pull, the can came splattering across the kitchen floor and Jinsoul was able to see the fuzzy black and green peaches that spilled from the container.

"Oh." The owl seemed to be glaring at her when she met its beady eyes. "I guess you've saved me again." 

 

* * *

 

It was 5pm and despite her shift having already ended an hour ago, one kid remained that day so Haseul sat with him on the bench outside, waiting for his parents to arrive.

"I like your shoes." She smiled, pointing to his little light up sneakers and he kicked his feet together, prompting them to flicker. "That's so cool!" 

"Thank you." He said shyly, looking down at his feet but he kept tapping them on the ground for Haseul to continue praising them. 

"Wow!" 

"Want me to do it again?" 

"Yeah!" 

A long while of this passed before the kid finally jumped up, running into his father's arms and Haseul looked up at the man, ready to give him the scripted speech about picking up his kid on time when she saw his face. Or just his eyes. 

He wore a dark cap on his head and a mask over his mouth but Haseul could still see the bandages and the three sharp gashes that poked from them, almost as if something sharp had raked deep across his face. 

"I'm sorry I'm late. I got held up at the construction site." He apologized, holding his son's hand. He looked at her for a moment before extending his other hand. "I don't usually pick him up on Fridays, so I don't think we've met before. I'm [insert shithead name]." 

"Haseul." She reached out to shake his hand, feeling the roughness in his palm and imagining the knife that he had pushed against her friend's throat and she subconsciously tightened her grip for a moment, making his eyes widen in surprise. 

He pulled away, pretending to shake off the pain.

"Wow, firm grip." He laughed and she forced a kind smile. 

"Just don't be late next time!" She reminded him and the kid looked up to wave at her as his father nodded.

"Bye!" He said before toddling off and Haseul called out a bye bye before watching his father pick him up, making him giggle as he swung him over his shoulder.

This was a dilemma. 

A week passed and Haseul came home to rustling in her bedroom. 

She slowly pulled her tiny bat from her backpack and stepped quietly into the house, leaving the door open in case she needed to run. Haseul pressed her back against the wall as she headed down the hall and upon reaching the open doorway, she jumped out, waving her bat as she screamed. Her scream was met by an even louder scream as Jinsoul jumped up, dropping the papers that she held in her hand. 

Haseul clutched her chest as she exhaled and lowered her bat, heading over to Jinsoul. 

"What are you doing here?" She asked, picking up the papers that she had dropped and handing them back to her. 

"My apartment is getting fumigated, remember? You gave me your spare key." Haseul nodded at the vague memory and opened her mouth to talk about sleeping arrangements when Jinsoul just hushed her, pointing to the wall above her desk. "What is that?"

Haseul wasn't sure how to answer without revealing herself and her eyes ran over the different red strings and photos that she had pinned onto her bulletin board, at her sloppy sticky notes and the small map she had torn out of an old almanac.

"I'm… writing a book." Jinsoul peered at her suspiciously but before she could respond they heard a loud slam followed by hasty steps into Haseul's apartment. 

Sooyoung popped her head into the room, panting, her wet hair dripping all over the floor.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, her eyes immediately meeting Haseul's. "I heard screaming." 

"Everything's fine! Jinsoul just surprised me." Sooyoung finally seemed to see the other girl and she nodded, smiling kindly. 

"Hello!" Jinsoul awkwardly bowed and unsure of what to do, Sooyoung bowed back. Haseul watched the two in amusement before recognizing the puddle that was forming on her floor. 

"Sooyoung, you're making a mess! Get out!" She huffed, pushing her towards the door. 

"Wait, I wanted to hang out!" 

"You can come back when you're dry!" 

There was a groan before Sooyoung acquiesced and Haseul shut the front door behind her before picking a shirt off of the couch and sniffing it. She brought it back into the room and dropped it on the puddle, cleaning it with her feet. 

Thankfully, her entrance pulled Jinsoul's attention far from the board.

"So?" Jinsoul teased as she flopped onto the bed, propping her chin up with her hands. "You never told me what's going on there." 

Haseul just giggled in response, picking up the wet shirt and hanging it on her chair to dry. 

"Tell me!" 

"I guess we're seeing each other? I'm just waiting for her to make the next move…" Jinsoul nodded in understanding, her grin overcoming her face.

"We're in the same boat then!" Haseul's face fell at her statement, not wanting her new relationship to be compared with Jinsoul and Jungeun's ongoing three years of pining. 

"We… are not." And before Jinsoul could protest, Haseul left to the kitchen, searching through her fridge for something the three of them could eat once Sooyoung returned. 

Fifteen minutes later, they sat awkwardly on the ground, Sooyoung and Haseul on one side of the coffee table and Jinsoul on the other, the three of them facing the television but not really watching. 

Haseul didn't really have anything to eat so each girl was peeling open wrappers from the bowl that Haseul had so proudly dubbed the "party mix". Or as Jinsoul, who had watched her quickly pour in different bags of small candies and toys, would call it "leftover Halloween treats".

Not that Jinsoul had anything against it and her pile of wrappers only grew larger and larger before she finally let her back hit the foot of the couch, resting both hands on her tummy. 

Seeing that everyone was done eating, Haseul began to gather up the trash to throw away and seeing her get up, Sooyoung quickly pushed her aside, insisting to do it instead. They bickered quietly and Jinsoul watched the exchange, smiling at how sweet they looked. All evening she had noticed how Sooyoung had been carefully observing Haseul the whole time and how Haseul would keep making sure that she was comfortable. But Jinsoul's smile slipped from her face when Sooyoung rolled up her sleeve and her brows furrowed in concern. 

"Jesus, what happened there?" She asked, pointing to the triangle shaped scar on her wrist. It was like nothing she had even seen before with its rough edges and its strange coloration. 

Haseul whipped her head to Sooyoung, staring at her in panic but Sooyoung just casually extended her arm, letting Jinsoul examine it carefully. 

"It almost looks like it's glowing." Jinsoul muttered under her breath, turning her arm back and forth under the light. 

"It's a white tattoo." Sooyoung said nonchalantly and Jinsoul let her arm go. 

"Oh, I've never heard of those before." She wondered, her frown not yet gone from her face and Sooyoung just smiled.

"Well, now you've seen one."

* * *

 

As the first week of November bled into the next, Haseul began to panic, musing carefully over what she was going to do. 

She stared at the board that hung on her wall, reading the new notes that littered its corners. 

On one hand, they could just kill him. She had done the research, figured out his background, and his record was far from what anyone could call clean. 

But on the other hand, there was his son. He was only nine years old, far too young to comprehend the death of his beloved father when he had so easily amused himself with his Sketchers for a whole hour and the decision was only more difficult now that she had actually met the kid. But he had hurt Jinsoul and probably countless others she didn't know about. 

Haseul carefully weighed her pros and cons before finally coming to a decision. 

When the day came once again, Sooyoung arrived a bit earlier than she normally did in order to prepare for what Haseul had decided on and the two headed out, pulling their coats tightly to their chest.

"Where are we headed then?" She asked as they made their way to the car and Haseul turned over, looking up at her. 

"To the construction site." 

Sooyoung had expected some big reveal, some incredible discovery about the guy considering that giant chart that Haseul had been carefully building the past few weeks. But she had just used a decide app, letting a wheel spin between yes and no before finally coming to her decision. 

"We're leaving it up to fate." She explained as they turned into the parking lot and Sooyoung rolled her eyes, pulling on her mask.

"You're just indecisive!" 

The night went on as it normally did, what with the strangling and the walk in the woods and the stabbing and the chanting, and soon the girls were headed back to the car and out to the local bar once again. 

Haseul gave Sooyoung a bit of a headstart this time, allowing her time to get properly wasted before slamming two shots and nearly passing out when she gagged. And it felt more intimate this time, the pair finding themselves in the privacy of a booth rather than the bar counter. 

Sooyoung was completely focused on the words that came spilling out of Haseul's mouth, finding herself nearly drunk with her voice. And Haseul was no different, appreciating Sooyoung even more than usual, if that were even possible, in her drunken haze. She noted how her eyes became impossibly soft when she would laugh, how she would constantly check up on her. The two were off in their own world, surrounded by loud chatter and pounding music but hearing nothing but one another. And when her head fell upon Sooyoung's shoulder, Sooyoung took it as the cue to take them home.

They stumbled down the street in each other's arms and Sooyoung properly helped Haseul into her apartment this time, letting her climb into her bed and heading to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. She returned to the room to find that Haseul had already shut her eyes, her face emanating bliss and Sooyoung smiled at the sight, gently placing the glass on her bedside table. She leaned over the bed, gently brushing the hair out of her face and pressed her lips against her forehead. 

"Goodnight, Haseul." Sooyoung whispered as she straightened up but before she could go, she felt Haseul's hand grab hers, pulling her back.

"Don't leave." She muttered softly and Sooyoung's heart warmed at the sound.

"Okay, I won't." 

 

* * *

 

It rained quite hard the next few days but Jinsoul just kept losing her umbrella, always getting it stolen after she dropped it into the rack at the front of the places she frequented. 

On the first night, she headed home with her tote bag over her head but when she had dumped its soaking contents onto her table and spent hours drying off what little cash that she had on a clothesline with a hairdryer, she decided that was a bad idea. 

The next night, she pulled her jacket over her head, looking like a goblin as she ran through the streets and though her head was dry, her back was absolutely soaking, the clothes beneath her jacket clinging to her skin. So with that, Jinsoul decided that that also was a stupid idea.

But that night, she couldn't stop praising herself, talking to herself as she climbed off of the bus, a plastic bag tied loosely around her head with little eye holes ripped out that she could barely see out of. 

"See, I'm telling you, I have the mind of a mastermind. I'm so creative like that." 

By this point, Zala had really grown to enjoy her stupidity, only feigning annoyance now when Bim would drag her out to play with her. She enjoyed watching her ridiculous antics and how things always went so wrong for her. But Bim's actions were a little concerning as she manipulated her surroundings further and further. 

Zala just kept a closer eye on Bim as she toyed with her, trying to get her client to come out. 

They followed the girl close behind as she walked down the pavement, the loud pitter patter of the rain drowning out everything but her singing but suddenly Bim heard it, perking her head up at the car that was coming down the street. Its headlights were too dim in the rain and the driver seemed to squint behind the windshield, trying to make out what was in front of him. 

Zala became frightened at the sight of Bim's plotting eyes but before she could interfere, her sister disappeared and she looked up at the sound of a shout to see that she had appeared beside the man in his car and was now pulling his wheel into the sidewalk. He couldn't see her, just yelling as he tried to regain control over his vehicle but it was impossible and the car veered right towards the girl. 

But the girl had no idea, still bopping her head to the song that spewed from her air pods and singing in the rain and panic stricken, Zala popped into his backseat, grabbing her sister by the collar and reappearing across the street.

But it was too late and there was no real time for him to turn away when he finally saw her. He slammed on his brakes but his tires just skidded in the water, propelling his car towards her. So, seeing that there was nothing else he could do, he just shut his eyes, honking loudly and bracing for impact. 

Jinsoul finally looked up to see the car and she stared wide eyed, unable to comprehend the pancake she was about to become when the owl came swooping down, grabbing her firmly by the back of her shirt and yanking her up just as the car rammed into the wall behind her. 

The owl gently placed her down beside the car and she ran to the window, knocking to see if the man inside was alright and thankfully he was.

Zala, on the other hand, was furious. 

"What the hell are you doing?" She yelled, shoving Bim away as she let go of her collar.

Bim just laughed, brushing off where she had touched her.

"I made her come out, didn't I? That was fun to watch!" Zala shook her head in frustration.

"You can't play with them like this! You're going to get in trouble!" 

"As if you don't have fun with them too!" Bim growled, her good mood becoming tainted.

"That's different! It's in the contract!" Zala yelled, poking at her chest. "But you're getting carried away! I don't want you to end up like…" She suddenly trailed off, pursing her lips and Bim sobered, bowing her head in realization.

"Okay, I'll stop." 

* * *

 

 

After trying and failing to convince that stupid owl to come out of the rain and into her apartment all night, Jinsoul came into class a little late, nearly sprinting when the room came into view. She placed the cup of coffee down on Jungeun's desk and opened her notebook, quickly catching up with what was on the board. But Jungeun never came. 

She kept peeking at the door behind them as the minutes passed but eventually they were dismissed and Jungeun's seat was never filled. 

Jinsoul downed the coffee, not wanting it to go to waste and she stepped out of the room, pulling her phone out to text Jungeun.

_-hey, missed u today!_

_where are u?_

She didn't have to wait very long for a response.

_-sick_

Furrowing her brows in concern, she typed back immediately.

_-what's wrong??_

Jinsoul stared at the screen as the three dots danced on the left before Jungeun responded again.

_-think i'm d ying_

_-jesus_

_ok, i'm on the way_

Jinsoul shot a quick text telling Haseul to just go home after class and she tucked her phone in her pocket, ignoring the constant buzzing that was probably Jungeun telling her not to come.

But soon enough, she arrived in front of her dorm and punched in the key that Jungeun and Jiwoo had given her so long ago, welcoming her as their third unofficial roommate. 

The door unlocked with a click and Jinsoul pulled it open to be welcomed by absolute silence. 

"Hello?" Jinsoul called into the dorm as she walked to the small kitchen, dropping off the bag of groceries onto the counter. She was greeted by a small groan down the hall and Jinsoul followed the sound to Jungeun's room where she knocked gently on the door before coming in. 

Jinsoul's heart sank when she saw her.

Jungeun looked like shit, curled up into herself and Jinsoul immediately rushed to her side, watching as she shivered in her sweat. She placed the back of her hand against her forehead and yanked it away at the heat. 

"Jesus, you're burning up!" 

Jungeun muttered something incomprehensible as Jinsoul slowly helped her upright, leaning her back against the headboard. After making sure that she wouldn't fall over, Jinsoul left the room, pulling out the ibuprofen that she had brought over from the grocery store and made a glass of iced water. 

"Take this. You'll feel better." She said and Jungeun nodded, letting her put the pill in her mouth before accepting the glass of water that was held to her lips. Jungeun weakly raised an arm, wiping fruitlessly at the sweat on her forehead.

"I feel gross." She grumbled and Jinsoul stood up, searching her bathroom for a small towel that she wet before bringing back in. She sat down next to her, watching Jungeun close her eyes as she moved her hair out of the way, gently wiping her face.

"What happened?" She wondered quietly and to her surprise, Jungeun mumbled back in response.

"Didn't want to dirty your apartment any more." Jinsoul raised a brow in confusion.

"What?" Jungeun exhaled before trying to speak again and Jinsoul watched carefully, believing that she had something important to say. 

"Your apartment is a shithole-" Jinsoul wiped over her mouth, forcing her to stop speaking.

"Okay, you need rest. No more talking." Jungeun just nodded in response and Jinsoul continued cleaning her, working her way down her neck and seeing the beads of sweat that rolled down the top of her loose t shirt, she followed them, wiping above her chest. She was just about to stop when Jungeun shifted to the right, letting her collar fall to the side and baring her shoulder. 

She let out a gasp when she saw it, the strange, round scar that made residence beneath the end of her collarbone.

Besides its shape, it looked just like Sooyoung’s, the way that it would almost glow under her skin and Jinsoul reached a careful hand out, tracing around it, feeling the power that surged through it for the first time.

She refused to believe that it was just a tattoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, i decided to speed things up a little hehe
> 
> hope ur enjoying the show n remember to smash that kudos button below n leave me feedback whether it be here on thru my cc to let me know what u think!!! 
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


	6. the third sister

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i wrote lucifer w black hair vivi in mind n the triplet line as zimzalabim!!
> 
> n just to clarify:  
> zim- hyunjin  
> zala- hyejoo  
> bim- yerim

They were born before the Earth had even taken shape, cautiously crafted at the delicate hands of Lucifer herself and left to walk the middle world, a loophole in the agreement that was set by those above and below them to never meddle in human affairs.

Zim, the demon of peace, Zala, the demon of violence, and Bim, the demon of chaos. Each sister, though woven from the same spool of thread, was vastly distinct in their temperament.

Zim was efficient, observing quietly and then doing exactly what she was asked to do. When the square scar would appear hot above her victim’s ankles, she would always cautiously draw half their lives from them, snipping the red line that ran invisible from their chests.

And where Zim was the epitome of consistency, Zala followed her closely behind, always asking for death in one way or another, begging for sacrifices to be left no matter how trifling the request was in comparison. With the burning etch of the messy triangle on their inner wrists, they were bound to her.

But despite Zala’s promise of death, Bim was the most fearful of them all, people falling for her cheerful entrance but quickly cowering at her wild eyes and the insanity that spilled so easily from her lips. No one ever knew what to expect from Bim, ideas constantly tumbling through her mind like an endless wash cycle. But with the circle that was carved beneath their collar bone, Bim would sit back and wait for her payment.

It was easy at first in the days where people would turn so vehemently for help from the supernatural, begging for everything from riches and beauty to power and health. They were a popular trio, their names spilling from helpless mouths each day, called to dark rooms and empty fields to help those who were desperate enough to call them.

The triplets always kept their end of the deal, providing people with exactly what they asked for but it was always a trap and as if their end of the bargain wasn’t payment enough, the humans were always sentenced to eternal damnation. It was just in the fine print.

But their reign soon ended after the Black Death, Bim’s contract having rendered far too much destruction and panic throughout the country and as the Renaissance began and technologies and medicine were improved, they were nearly wiped out of existence.

The idea of summoning demons and playing with the devil just seemed too far fetched and medieval to continue and a new era of mankind was born where they were no longer welcome.

For the next hundreds of years, the sisters roamed aimlessly upon the Earth, their ears open for anyone who had a request but their names were never spoken again.

Then Lucifer slightly loosened her restraints, allowing them the ability to sense suffering and to take a human form. Instead of waiting as they always had been, they were to seek out their prey out, assimilating into the human population with a new radar for anguish. And it worked brilliantly at first, there being a boom in contracts and humans pouring into the underworld once again.

But Lucifer never anticipated the trouble that would come with these new gifts and admittedly it was her fault. She’d been careless, not pausing for a moment to consider the consequences.

By merely offering them the taste of sensation, she had inadvertently opened the gates to more, blurring the lines in ways that differed between each sister.

The thing with feelings was that they were a disease and upon the mere exposure of one sensation would come a plethora of others.

Anger. Sadness. Joy. Fear. Disgust.

And these feelings itched beneath their skin, infecting their insides until their minds were no longer clear and as the girls grew greedy, they began to chase for more and forgetting their job and what they were really meant to do.

It was dangerous how it was never enough, the pursuit of happiness becoming a never ending undertaking due to the infinitesimal effect that it had on their endless lives.

It was so easy to get carried away.

Bim became even more terrifying than before. Other’s pain was now her happiness so she was creative, bringing about different zany scenarios and watching as people would struggle with the aftermath. How they would grow excited with their sudden artistic skill only to become blind soon after or how they would become an incredible athlete only to lose a leg. The perfect recipe for misery was one that Bim would never share.

And Zala now found pleasure in watching the wavering fear in her victim's eyes and how willing they were to kill others just because she had asked. She had no use for the bodies, zapping them away immediately once the ritual was done but it was the process that entertained her, how people were willing to spew nonsense and do the absolute most just to get what they wanted.

Lucifer began to lose her reign on her daughters, struggling so hard to keep them under control as they built bonds with their few contracts but not wanting to hurt them as she so loved them.

But under one circumstance, she had no choice.

 

 

* * *

 

There were three hundred and thirty three rules that were read to them each night from the moment they had been born. And it was almost like a bedtime story, their mother having come into their shared room with the same leather bound book before running down the list. Zala and Bim would always fall asleep halfway through, their heads touching as they curled up in their bed. But when Lucifer would move to close her book, Zim would put a hand on the page, begging her to continue. And Lucifer would smile, opening her arms for Zim to crawl into her lap and she would continue reading softly until she felt her daughter grow sleepy in her arms. When her head would finally droop upon her chest, Lucifer would gently pick her up, lying her beside her sisters and tucking them all in with a kiss on the head before leaving the room.

It was Zim.

If she could count on any of her daughters, it would always be Zim and as the eldest, she would always keep the other two on track, constantly reiterating the rules that she had memorized during those late nights and reminding them how easily they could lose a contract if a mistake was found. And of all the girls, she was the best at her job, having the highest number of contracts and the quickest results. Lucifer couldn't help but to beam with pride at the thought of her.

But rather than amplifying her strengths with her newfound abilities, Zim quickly succumbed to them.

The line between merely sensing to actually experiencing pain blurred quickly for Zim and she vividly remembered the day that she choked, falling heavily against the pavement after she doubled over, trying to catch a breath. She took in the sight of her scraped arms and bloody knees and scowled, hating the limitations that came with her human body.

And for the first time, Zim was able to feel the burning in her lungs and the aching in her heart and her head whipped around, searching for the cause of her agony. It was unbearable. But the crowded streets were merciless, the bobbing heads and huddles of bodies making it difficult for her to see more than ten feet in front of her. People bumped into her, knocking her back onto the ground and looking around in confusion and though Zim was annoyed, she was thankful she had a choice in who could see her. She didn’t feel like dealing with all the attention.

She stumbled hazily across the street and as the searing in her chest grew hotter and more intense and her vision began to grow dark, Zim became more confident that she was moving in the right direction.

And then finally she saw her. The young girl sat against a tree in the park, her chest racking with each cough that came spewing from her throat. She couldn’t have been more than nine and Zim let herself change to suit her age, her height shrinking and her hair, that she had always worn neatly in a ponytail, spilling messily over her shoulders.

She approached her and waited patiently for the girl to stop her coughing before offering a gentle hand, trying so hard to ignore the rawness she now felt in her throat.

“Do you want me to make it not hurt anymore?”

The girl looked up at her with wide, soft eyes.

“What do I have to do?”

“Just give me half your life.” At Zim’s words, she just swatted her hand away before laughing hoarsely and Zim was immediately taken aback at her casual nature.

“I think I'm okay for now. Thank you.”

Zim stood there for a moment, the rules beginning to flash through her head as they always did while she pondered over her next move.

_Rule #47: Demons must wipe the memories of those who refuse their deals._

"Are you sure?" Zim asked and the girl nodded, smiling.

"I'll be fine."

At the sound of a snap, the girl's eyes flew open to see that she was still at the park and she scanned her surroundings for a moment, feeling weirdly disoriented.

To her surprise, the same pain drew Zim back three years later and Lucifer attested it to the intensity of the suffering, believing that it had left a lingering effect on Zim, creating an unintentional bond between her and the girl. But Zim just wanted to stop hurting and she sighed upon meeting her once again. She was now on a bench at the bus stop, her knees drawn tightly to her chest as she gasped for air. Her hair had grown much longer now and her limbs had become much skinnier but Zim could never forget those eyes.

And once again, she reached a hand out, waiting for the girl to take it.

"Do you want me to make it not hurt anymore?"

She stared up at her with glassy eyes before grasping her hand tightly, unable to breathe, let alone speak. And Zim stood there uncomfortably, unsure of what to do as the girl's grip became unrelenting.

This wasn't in the rulebook nor was this anything she had planned for or anticipated. So, she slowly shuffled to the space beside her, sitting down as she waited for the girl to compose herself.

"What do I have to do?" She was finally able to choke out after a few minutes and Zim noted her loosening fingers, though she didn't remove her hand.

"Give me half your life." The girl shut her eyes, laughing quietly.

"And how many years would that be?"

"I don't know how long you are destined to live."

The girl frowned, scrunching her nose, displeased with the answer she was given.

"Well, how many years do you usually take?" Zim pondered over this for a moment.

"Sometimes fifty. Sometimes twenty. Sometimes even five. The human life tends to vary quite significantly." The girl pursed her lips for a moment before shaking her head.

"Who's to say I have very long to live? What if you take half my life and I was meant to die at 25? Would I die tomorrow?" Zim just shrugged.

"It is a possibility."

"Then no."

And at the sound of a snap, the girl's eyes opened to the arriving bus, her hand feeling oddly cold and exposed.

Five more years passed and Zim stood outside the girl's car window, watching as she cried into the steering wheel, her arms wrapped tightly around her shaking body and blood stained tissues littered the passenger seat. If her chest had panged before, it was searing now and Zim felt like there was poisoning constantly running through her veins.

"I feel too weak to move." The girl barely uttered when she met her eyes and Zim reached her hand out for the last time.

"Then let me take the pain away." The girl stared at her hand for a moment before opening her mouth wide enough for Zim to see the red that stained her teeth.

"What do I have to do?" Her eyes pleaded.

"Just give me half your life."

Zim nearly fell with the sudden pierce in her chest and she heard the girl gasp before nodding desperately.

"Take it." She breathed through gritted teeth and finally, she properly grasped Zim's hands in a firm shake and the burning from her chest instantly disappeared.

She opened her eyes wide in shock as she took the first deep breath that she had taken in years, appreciating the cool air and the nice feeling of her filling lungs.

"Thank you." She whispered to the demon, feeling tears beginning to fill her eyes once more but they were different, now full of relief as the pain that had plagued her for so long was finally gone. She brought Zim's hand to her lips, kissing it gently in appreciation and Zim nearly flinched at the new sensation. "How can I ever repay you?"

"You already have." Zim stated simply, pulling her hand from the other girl's grip and the girl felt her leg suddenly begin to sting. She looked down to see a square slowly appearing above her ankle and her head shot up, ready to ask the stranger for an explanation when she was met with nothing. The demon had disappeared as quickly as she had come.

A different deal called her back to the city a year later and when she finished, Zim felt that familiar twinge in her chest once again as she started to leave. The girl was close.

Consumed by curiosity, Zim left the hospital room, walking swiftly down the halls until she felt her chest began to grow impossibly tight and she turned into the open doorway, seeing the girl splayed across the couch. Her eyes widened in recognition when she saw Zim and she immediately straightened up, watching her carefully as she entered the room.

“What are you doing here?”

“I thought you were hurting.”

The girl just gave a sad smile, looking over at the bed where her friend lied, bruised and unconscious, covered in tubes and wires.

“I guess I am.”

Zim raised a brow in confusion.

“But I took your sickness away. You shouldn’t hurt anymore.” The girl sighed, running a hand through her hair and letting her head rest in her palm for a moment.

“There’s more than one way to feel pain.” Unsure how to answer that, Zim shuffled her feet awkwardly and pursed her lips and seeing her antsy actions, the girl scooted over, motioning for her to sit in the empty space beside her. “Come keep me company.”

_Rule #12: Demons must not involve themselves in a human’s life outside of the contract set for them._

“I’m sorry, I should leave now.” The girl pouted at the rejection and Zim turned towards the door, preparing to disappear back to her home when the girl suddenly called to her.

“Wait!” She turned back around. “What’s your name?”

Zim froze, never having been asked that question before.

“Zim.” The girl nodded in response, reaching a hand out.

“Thank you for everything, Zim. I’m Heejin.” Zim stared at it for a moment, deeply confused, before accepting it and they shook, almost as though they were solidifying a new deal. And soon, their hands fell from one another and Heejin only watched as she began to back up again.

“Goodbye, Heejin.” Was all she uttered before Heejin was met by the emptiness at the space she once stood.

Four months went by and Zim appeared in her passenger seat. It was a bad crash, the lamppost was now embedded into the front of her car, the glass of the front window was absolutely shattered all over the dashboard, and smoke rose heavily from the engine. Zim’s chest once again hurt but it was a different kind of hurt, now sharp and suffocating. She watched as Heejin’s hand shook as she tried to push the airbag off of herself and reach for her phone, only to wince in pain.

Seeing her, Heejin turned to face her, her eyes desperate.

“Please, help.” Zim paused for a moment, unsure if she could but she just looked so helpless and plagued with empathy, Zim picked her phone up, placing it into her hand. Heejin found comfort in her lingering touch and barely breathed out a thank you before Zim disappeared again.

Two years passed and now twenty lit candles sat on her cake as she lie dazed on the bar ground, her arm crooked at a weird angle. And as her friend went running to get help, Zim’s frowning face appeared among the view of the hazy ceiling and Heejin giggled.    

“Hello again.” She slurred and Zim’s frown only deepened as she clutched her own arm.

“Why must you constantly get hurt?”

“I’m just living my life!” Heejin exclaimed, smiling giddily and her eyes twinkled with glee. She barely seemed to comprehend the pain through her drunken state and Zim sighed, extending a hand. Heejin gratefully accepted it, letting the demon pull her up before just falling loosely into her arms and Zim’s breath hitched in surprise as Heejin nuzzled her head into her chest.

They stood there for a moment, their ears pounding with the loud music and their bodies enveloped with one another, content until Zim saw her friend heading back and raising an eyebrow at the sight of her.

_Rule #17: Demons must not allow a third party to be aware of or involved in an individual’s contract._

She gently pushed the girl off, helping her onto a chair.

“You won’t live for much longer if you continue this way.”

If it were even possible, she became more and more sensitive to the other girl’s suffering, being there when she had a concussion from falling down the stairs or when she had her wisdom teeth taken out. She was there the day she had her first heartbreak, the day she was kicked from her home, the day her dog needed to be put down. And soon, Heejin found herself so hopelessly bound to Zim, seeing her almost as a guardian angel, except that she wasn’t there to protect her but there to help her through the aftermath.

Heejin found a friend in Zim and Zim in Heejin.

By twenty two, Heejin got to summoning Zim every night with a mere slap to her thigh or a pencil lightly jabbed into her arm and Zim would appear with her arms crossed, frowning in feigned annoyance. Heejin would just giggle at the sight of her and extend a hand, letting her take it before pulling her onto the bed. Zim would end up spending the night watching movies and stupid videos on her phone with her until the two fell asleep side by side. And in the early morning, Zim would sneak back home to her shared room, slipping into her own bed before her sisters would rise.

Of course, Lucifer knew but she said nothing, noting the rare happiness that Zim now bore upon her once blank face. She smiled more now, the points of her teeth poking from her lips and the sight of it was enough to warm her heart. What with Zala and Bim now gallivanting in the streets gleefully, stealing from street vendors and being able to taste the sweetness of desserts now, it was only fair that Zim had found her own source of joy. As long as the balance of the worlds remained undisturbed, she allowed Zim to continue and her little actions in aiding Heejin never did much to affect the large scale of things.

But then she stopped coming home and she stopped making contracts.

Zim’s nights were now spent in Heejin’s bed and her days were spent roaming the streets with her, now properly taking in the sights and the scenery that she had never noticed before having teleported everywhere. She ate her first cotton candy, her eyes widening in awe as the sugar melted on her tongue and read her first novel “The Book Thief”, her belly in stitches as she laughed raucously at its personification of Death. She felt the sand beneath her toes as they ran hand in hand through the beach and felt the pull of the ocean as they stood in the water. Zim spat at the bitterness of coffee while Heejin laughed in amusement and she rode her first roller coaster, her eyes squeezed shut as her stomach turned and she punched Heejin in annoyance afterwards, only to feel the pain mirrored in her arm. She watched the sun rise on her rooftop, taking in the orange tint that slowly flooded the dark blue and the sun set from Heejin’s car window, her mouth opened in awe as the two headed home down the highway. And she felt true warmth blossom within her chest for the first time as her lips found a home between Heejin’s.

In the thousands of years that she had existed, she had never felt more alive.

Though Lucifer was now beginning to grow concerned, she refrained from interfering, Zim’s unadulterated bliss having affected her more than she would’ve liked, but she now monitored her closely.

Heejin returned home from work one night with a baby book in hand and she fell into the sofa beside Zim, nearly bursting with excitement.

“I have a gift for you.” She sang and Zim smiled, holding her hand out to accept the book but Heejin just giggled, opening it up and pointing to a line.

“What is it?” Zim asked, taking it into her lap and leaning closer to read it.

“Your human name!”

Zim didn’t respond, only staring at the page and Heejin suddenly grew nervous, hoping that she hadn’t gone too far. She looked over to apologize and when she saw the girl in tears for the first time, Heejin hastily withdrew the book from her hands.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-” Zim put her hand over Heejin’s, gently pulling the book back towards herself.

“Thank you.” She said softly, looking up at her with pure adoration before staring back down at the page, tracing the words with her fingers. “I love it.”

Heejin let her head fall onto her shoulder in relief and at the sound of her drowsy yawn, Zim took her hand. 

“Are you tired?” The girl nodded in response and Zim put down the book and helped her up, their hands swinging lazily as they made their way into the bedroom. Once they were all properly cleaned up and ready to sleep, they snuggled their way under the covers and Heejin nuzzled her head into her chest, dropping a sleepy arm over her waist while Zim rested her chin atop her head, wrapping her arms around her.

“Goodnight, Heejin.”

“Goodnight, Hyunjin.” She muttered into her shirt and Zim couldn’t stop smiling, her new name now cemented with Heejin’s voice.

She had never heard the deafening tick tock of the analog clock that hung above her window until the quiet snores that had masked it disappeared with the girl who had just taken her last breath.

At the sudden blinding pain that overcame her chest and the absence of the other girl’s movement in the mere minutes that followed, Zim forced herself up, shaking her shoulder.

"Heejin?" Her body moved limply until she released her, letting her tip back into the bed.

Of course this wasn't the first time she'd seen a dead body, having always been there to watch their departure at the end of their deal. And she had generally been so calloused during the entire exchange, watching blankly as their heart stopped and the square slowly disappeared from their skin before leaving. But not now.

Why did she feel like her chest was being crushed by the weight of Earth?

Why did her body ache and crave and long so desperately for a reciprocated touch?

Why did she feel so impossibly alone?

Before she had fallen, sprawled across the pavement, her hands scraped and her knees bruised so deeply violet and blue for the puppy eyed girl, she was fine. Had not even noticed the emptiness in her tedious life or how the gaps between her fingers were like puzzle pieces begging for their counterparts.

But now, she just felt so broken.

"I can't do this without you." Her heart ached and her eyes stung with the tears that spilled onto her cheek. "Please."

She slipped a hand under the girl's head, gently lifting her up and she let her fall against her shoulder as she wrapped her arms tightly against her, pressing her lips to her head.

"I love you too much."

 _Rule #1: Demons must_ _never_ _use their abilities for self-serving purposes._

The sight of the scar quickly disappearing from her ankle was too much to bear and Zim took a ragged breath, pressing her hand against the girl's chest and shutting her eyes.

"Please, wake up."

And she did, her eyes fluttering open dazedly as Zim nuzzled her cheek into her head.

Heejin turned up, her brows quickly furrowing in concern at the tears rolling down her face. She lifted her hand, wiping them away with her thumb before lightly caressing her cheek.

"What's wrong?" Zim sighed in relief at the sound of her voice and moved her hands to her face before leaning down and resting her forehead on hers.

"Everything's fine now." She whispered. Heejin melted into the contact, bringing her arms around Zim’s neck before giggling and Zim drank up her happiness like she was starving.

But the peace didn't last long and when Heejin pulled away, Zim heard the loud crack of thunder before Lucifer appeared behind her, her eyes tinged with regret.

This was not something that she could let Zim get away with.

"I'm sorry," was all she said before her hands swiftly met Heejin's neck and Zim had no time to utter out more than a "No!" in protest before Heejin dropped back onto the bed, the scar fading quickly from her leg.

Zim stared down at her, the pain now even more unbearable than it was before and her hands shook as she brought them to her face. It took every ounce of self control in her body not to scream.

Lucifer reached a tentative hand out, placing it gently on her shoulder only for the girl to turn around, snapping at her.

"Don't fucking touch me." Zim seethed and she quickly withdrew her hand, searching deep within herself for the composure she so needed.

"Zim…"

"Don't call me that."

"It's your legacy." She still refused to look up at her, her hands now holding Heejin's, stroking it gently.

"I don't want it anymore."

Lucifer grew sick of the sight and she dragged the girl up, grasping her upper arm harshly as she sent them back to the underworld.

They landed in the girls' bedroom, her two sisters looking on curiously before Lucifer pointed at the door, sending the pair scrambling out. She turned her daughter to face her, loosening the grip on her arm.

"Listen to me." She started slowly, watching as Zim's lip began to quiver. "There are rules that we need to follow. You can’t just do whatever you want.”

“I’m so sick of rules.” She said numbly and her glassy eyes wandered the room, taking in the bare walls and the empty beds. She missed the paintings and pictures that hung haphazardly onto Heejin’s walls, the endless trinkets that littered her shelves, the leftover cake in her fridge, and the books that were strewn across her coffee table. There was none of that here. Her heart ached for the first time on its own and she almost wanted the feeling to stay forever, the pain reminding her of who she’d just lost.

Lucifer kept her voice firm, turning Zim’s head back to face her again.

“Those rules are meant to protect us. They’re what’s kept us here since the beginning of time.”

“Well, I don’t want to be here anymore.” She pushed her away, trying to sound uncaring and distant but the waver in her voice betrayed her as she felt the weight of her own words. Zim turned and headed to her bed, keeping her head down to hide the tears that had begun forming in her eyes as her mother slowly approached her.

“This is where you belong.” Zim said nothing as she sat down on the bed, staring at her feet. “You’re not a human, Zim. You can’t keep chasing a life that isn’t yours."

Through her blurred vision, Zim saw her hesitantly extend a hand and with that the memories came flooding back to her, the ever so fleeting warmth and rawness and excitement that had been torn so abruptly from her, and Zim finally broke, her sobs racking her chest as she pulled her hands to her face.

"What if I don’t want the life I have?"

It was unbearable to see her this way and Lucifer finally sat down beside her, pulling her into her arms and letting her cry into her shoulder. This wasn’t something she could merely take away now, not since it had consumed Zim so violently.

There was only one other option.

"I’m sorry." She said softly, gently running her hands up her back as Zim shook against her. "But you’ll be okay. You’ll forget all about this someday." But at the feeling of her burning fingers against her temple, Zim suddenly pushed her away, wide eyed.

“I don’t want to forget.”

“It’ll be for the best.” Zim shook her head adamantly, wiping the tears off her face and forcing a smile.

“I’ll be fine. Please, just… let me be alone.” Lucifer nodded before squeezing her shoulder and standing up to leave. And as she shut the door behind her, she watched as her daughter stared emptily at the wall, unaware that that’d be the last time she’d ever see her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well this was my fav chap to write!!! i hope u guys liked it n feel free to drop some comments here or on my cc!! 
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


	7. the pigeon

_An uncaring hand wave of a dismissal after a carefully crafted request, a messily scrawled F over a paper that been toiled over for weeks, a face closely acquainted with a padded ground despite the bleeding knuckles that were testament of her endless training._

_With a grunt, Sooyoung threw another heavy fist at the bag, the anger that resided deep within her chest beginning to bare its ugly claws again. Its chains creaked lazily on its frame before coming to an easy stop in front of her and she readjusted her stance, ready to restart her regimen when she heard a chuckle._

_“Don’t you ever get tired?” She whipped her head around to see a girl smirking at her from her couch. “You’ve been at this for hours.”_

_Sooyoung’s eyes widened and she slowly backed slowly into the kitchen, pulling a knife from the block and holding it defensively in front of herself._

_“How the fuck did you get in here?” The girl just laughed again, stretching slowly before getting up and following her into the kitchen. Her eyes seemed to glint red for just a moment as she stood a mere few feet away and Sooyoung gulped, waving the knife higher in an attempt to threaten her. “Don’t come any closer.” Nothing about this girl’s presence felt right._

_“Do you really think you could take me?” She didn’t have time to make another comment before Sooyoung shakily shoved her knife deep into her gut and the girl stood for a moment, looking down at the handle that protruded from her. Crimson began to blossom through her gray t-shirt and Sooyoung stared in fear as the girl hissed in pain before curling her fingers around the handle and yanking the knife out, easily dropping it with a clatter on the floor. “That fucking hurt, you stupid bitch!” She growled angrily and she struck Sooyoung in the chest with an open palm, sending her back slamming against the fridge behind her._

_Sooyoung gasped at the sudden wind that was knocked out of her and clutched her chest, trying to regain her breath. The girl still seemed preoccupied with her injury muttering a string of curses before putting a hand over her wound and exhaling slowly. Seeing that her back was turned, Sooyoung forced herself up and lunged at her again, throwing her arms around her neck and squeezing tightly. The girl huffed in annoyance, bending forward and flipping Sooyoung over, throwing her roughly against the ground and onto her back._

_“Are you fucking done?” She asked as she lie panting on the ground and Sooyoung tried to push herself up again only to have her chest shoved back down by the girl’s foot. The girl bent down, resting her arm on her knee and increasing the weight on her chest. “I asked you a question.”_

_Finally resigning, Sooyoung nodded weakly and seeming satisfied with her answer, the girl stepped back, reaching out a hand to pull her up. Sooyoung rejected her, rolling over and pushing herself up slowly and shrugging, the girl just backed up, letting her recover._

_“Who are you?” Sooyoung finally managed to breathe once she regained her composure. “Why are you here?” The girl just smirked again._

_“I’m Zala and you need my help.”_

 

* * *

 

_“What are you doing?” Zala sat up, rubbing her eyes. The constant rustling and click of the lamp had woken her up and she watched as her sister gathered her few trinkets from her bedside table, tucking them into a bag. Zim looked at her wide eyed before running a hand through her hair and exhaling._

_“I can’t stay here.”_

_“Why not?” Zim paused, pursing her lips and her voice shook the next time she spoke._

_“It hurts too much.”_

_“So, where will you go? Back up?”_

_Zim nodded, throwing her bag over her shoulder and her sister ambled out of her bed, pulling her into a hug. The two had never been too keen on affection but she tightened her own arms around her accepting her embrace._

_“Do you want me to wake up Bim so you can say goodbye?” At the sight of the purple haired girl splayed across her mattress, Zim shook her head._

_“No, let her sleep.” Zala finally released her and she backed up, taking in the room one last time before looking back at her sister. “Be good, okay?”_

_“Who do you think I am?” Zala smirked and Zim smiled before disappearing from the room._

_Their mother was devastated when she learned what had happened the next morning and she sat quietly on Zim’s bed, brooding over the mistakes that she had made over the past decade._

_“Do you want us to go find her?” Bim prodded, disturbed by her mother’s silence and Lucifer just sighed, surrendering to her absence._

_“No, let her return when she wishes. I will collect her myself if she gets into trouble.” Bim nodded in understanding and Lucifer turned to her other daughter, stroking her cheek as she passed her the torch that her sister had left behind. “Zala, my expectations now fall on you.”_

 

* * *

 

_“You can’t be serious.”_

_“I am completely serious.”_

_Sooyoung stared down at her hands for a moment, contemplating over the decision that had just been presented to her. Would it be worth improving her life at the cost of other people’s?_

_“This is a lot to think about...” Zala just shrugged and straightened up._

_“Alright then, keep being a loser for the rest of your life.” She raised a hand, ready to wipe her memories when Sooyoung stopped her, her mind exhausted from her fruitless efforts and her constant failures. At this point, she would’ve done anything._

_“Wait! Fine, I’ll do it.” Zala smiled, extending a hand that she quickly took and with that the deal was sealed and Sooyoung winced at the scar that began to appear on her wrist. “So, now what? I don’t feel any different...” Zala rolled her eyes._

_“So impatient… Just go on with your life. You’ll notice soon enough.”_

 

* * *

 

Something was wrong and after she was met by Haseul’s voicemail for the tenth time, Jinsoul couldn’t shake the dread that had begun to consume her. It was unlike Haseul to ignore her calls and with it being merely 10PM and a Saturday, there was no way she was already sleeping. Jinsoul pulled a coat on and rummaged around her supply closet, looking for something to arm herself with before heading to her apartment.

She still had her spare key and she was inserting it into the lock when she heard a man’s voice in her apartment and panicking even further, Jinsoul took a deep breath before unlocking the door with a quiet click before slowly pushing it forward, only for it to stop. Jinsoul looked up at the little chain that hung between the door and its frame, stopping her from opening it all the way and frowned. That was new.

“Haseul!” She called into the room but there was silence besides the man’s muffled words. “Haseul!” Not knowing what to do, Jinsoul stuck the handle of her broomstick in, bumping it around the wall until she eventually hit the light switch making it click on. Light flooded the room and suddenly, the man’s voice stopped and Jinsoul heard her bedroom door slowly creak open. She immediately went to withdraw the broomstick only for it to be snatched into the room and she backed up in panic, staring wide eyed at the two shadows of feet that were beneath the crack of the door. “Haseul?” 

“You scared me!” She heard the girl yell and the door was shut for a moment as she slid off the lock before it was opened again. Jinsoul grimaced slightly at the bags that hung beneath her eyes and her disheveled hair and the nail-riddled bat she clutched onto so tightly before pushing her way into the apartment. A half drunk glass sat on her counter next to several empty bottles of wine and pages and pages of news articles spilled from her coffee table, littering across the floor among books that laid open on their spines and notes that were scrawled sloppily on scraps of paper. 

“Jeez, what happened here?” Haseul reached a hand up to scratch her head nervously.

“I’m just… doing some research.” She muttered, stumbling over her words.

“And since when did you start drinking so much?” Jinsoul asked, eyeing the bottle and Haseul just bit her lip. 

“It helps me get through the reading.” Jinsoul shook her head, as she passed Haseul and gathered the bottles to throw away. Haseul teetered behind her, trying to help but Jinsoul grabbed her shoulders, pushing her gently towards the couch. 

“Just… go sit. You look like you’re about to fall down.” Haseul reached for the glass to bring with her when Jinsoul swatted her hand away. “That’s enough for tonight!” Haseul grumbled to herself as she went to sit down and Jinsoul picked up the glass and brought it over to the sink. But before pouring it, she paused, watching as the red swished gently in the glass. It would be such a waste and she hadn’t had a proper drink in a long while. Slightly tempted, she glanced over at the back of Haseul’s head before tilting her head back and quickly downing it. 

But the moment the liquid hit her throat, she began to choke and the glass fell from her hand, shattering against the floor. Her hands flew to grab the edge of the counter as she doubled over, gagging as her tongue grew numb. 

"Jinsoul?" She barely heard Haseul's voice through the sudden pounding in her ear and she turned around unsteadily, taking a hazy step towards her before everything went black.

 

* * *

 

_Sooyoung held a hand to her swollen cheek before taking a deep breath as she pushed herself off the ground for the third time. Her wrist stung beneath her sweatband she wore to hide the new scar that had formed two weeks before._

_“Is that really all you’ve got?” She spit, red staining her teeth. There were shouts as she raised her wrapped fists again and the two danced around each other, waiting for the other to make the first move._

_Her opponent lunged forward first, swinging her arm forward but seeing her movement, Sooyoung leaned back, dodging the attack. They both immediately bounced back, eyeing each other carefully before the other girl feigned a jab to her face only to kick upwards at her rib. It being the move that had knocked her out in their last fight, Sooyoung remembered and easily blocked her foot, pushing it down. Caught off guard, the girl stumbled backwards for a second before regaining her footing but that one second was all Sooyoung needed._

_The girl only had a moment to raise her fists to block her face when Sooyoung began her merciless onslaught. She threw a right hook at her rib and when the girl moved her hands down to block the attack, Sooyoung struck the left side of her face instead, making her lean towards the right for just a second before Sooyoung sent her back the other way with another right hook to her cheek. The girl’s back hit the ropes and she began to fall but blinded by her rage, Sooyoung persisted, slamming a kick into her knee and making her groan and buckle under the attack. She would’ve struck her again in the face if not for the referee who grabbed her roughly by the waist, yanking her back._

_The referee stood by the other girl and then came the countdown, the crowd mumbling in anticipation as Sooyoung cracked her knuckles, waiting. And at ten, the crowd erupted into a cheer and the referee grabbed her arm, raising it into the air as he declared a knockout._

_It was that night that she was dubbed “the G.O.A.T” for the first time._

_Sooyoung took off her helmet as she unlocked her door and upon opening it, she saw the girl on her couch again, her elbows propped upon her crossed legs and her chin resting on her fist. She had been coming nearly every day and at this point, Sooyoung had just accepted her as a regular presence in her house. At the sound of Sooyoung’s jingling keys, she looked up at her and pointed to the television where some nature documentary was playing._

_“You can’t afford Netflix or something? This is the only channel that isn’t the fucking news.” Sooyoung placed her helmet onto the table by the door and waved her hand for Zala to scoot over before joining her on the couch._

_“Are you homeless or something? Why are you always in my fucking house?” Zala scowled, leaning back and crossing her arms, but surprisingly, she didn’t snap back as she normally did and just continued watching the show quietly for a few seconds before speaking up._

_“There’s nothing to do at my house and there’s no one else to hang out with because my sisters are gone.” Sooyoung raised her brow in curiosity, never having heard the girl mention anything about her own life._

_“Where’d they go?”_

_“One’s off in Sweden, wherever the fuck that is, and the other… I don’t know.” Sooyoung turned to her, waiting for her to elaborate when the girl just pursed her lips in thought before moving on. “Anyway, I watched your fight earlier. Not bad.” Sooyoung rolled her eyes at the change in subject._

_“Thanks. So what? Am I like your replacement sister now?” She teased and Zala growled as she grew a little flustered._

_“Fuck off.” Sooyoung just laughed at how she didn’t deny it, shoving her lightly and Zala stared ahead at the screen refusing to meet her eyes just yet. “I was meaning to ask. Why were people calling you a goat?” It took her a moment to realize that the girl was genuinely asking._

_“It stands for greatest of all time.” Zala smirked, chuckling a little._

_“Well, they’re wrong.” Before Sooyoung could snap back, Zala gestured to the screen, redirecting her attention. “I wouldn’t say you’re a goat… maybe more like a pigeon.” Sooyoung frowned as she watched the birds hop around the screen, pecking at breadcrumbs on the ground._

_“What the fuck? Why?” Zala raised her hands defensively._

_“Hey, I’m trying to be nice! Let me finish!” Sooyoung huffed and crossed her arms._

_“Fine, go ahead.”_

 

* * *

 

Jinsoul opened her eyes to Haseul's furrowed brows and she watched as she exhaled in relief, bringing a hand to her chest.

"What-" Jinsoul stopped to clear her throat, her mouth feeling impossibly dry. "Can you get me some water?" She whispered hoarsely and Haseul stood up to prepare her a glass as Jinsoul slowly pushed herself up from the floor. Her body ached deeply and she raised a hand to her head, letting her forehead rest in her palm for a second before accepting the glass that Haseul held out to her. 

"Are you okay?" Haseul asked as she carefully studied the other girl and Jinsoul took a long sip, the water doing little to curb the dryness, before finally speaking.

"What the hell was that?" 

"What?" 

"The drink! Was there something in it?" Haseul raised a brow in confusion. 

"I don't think so? It's been out for a while though so maybe some popcorn fell in?" The two looked up at her asbestos covered ceiling simultaneously.

"I don't think that's how it works…" Haseul pressed the back of her hand to Jinsoul's forehead and hummed in thought for a moment. 

"I think you should stay the night. I don't want you to be at home alone in case you collapse again." Seeing no reason to argue with that, Jinsoul stood up, following her into her room only to become shocked at the sight once again.

The content that she had pinned haphazardly all over her bulletin board now spilled onto her walls, it now being exponentially bigger since the last time she'd seen it. And though that threatening red yarn had disappeared, the pictures and pages were now directly scribbled upon messily with a thick marker. 

“What is this…” Jinsoul muttered as she stepped closer and her eyes flickered over different words on the board. Psychological effects of power. Aggravated kidnapping. Total unconfirmed victims. Case dismissed. Her eyes flew to a photograph that slightly stuck out from beneath the plethora of articles and noting the angry, red scrawl across it, she reached her hand to pull it out only to have Haseul slap it away. “Haseul, what are you doing?”

“I’m writing a book.” Not knowing what to think, Jinsoul brought her hands to her head, climbing onto Haseul’s bed where she saw her open laptop, the screen displaying a man bent over a body on the ground. That would explain the voice she had heard.

“Why are you watching these creepy shows again? They’re all over our Netflix...” Haseul said nothing just coming to sit beside her on the bed and shutting her screen. “Haseul!”

“You’re asking too many questions!” She finally snapped and Jinsoul’s eyes widened in surprise at her unexpected loss in composure. 

“What is going on with you?” Haseul didn’t answer, just setting up her pillows and unfolding her comforter. She passed a pillow over to Jinsoul without meeting her eyes and lied down on her own, turning away from her to face the wall.

“I’m going to bed now. Good night.”

Jinsoul stared down at her body for a moment before slipping down under the blanket and it was when she closed her eyes that she remembered why she had come in the first place. 

But with Haseul looking so preoccupied, Jinsoul figured she might as well find out about the scars herself.

 

* * *

 

[Days prior to Jinsoul’s visit] 

“I’m not being paranoid, I’m just being more careful.” Haseul explained as she watched Sooyoung set up her new lock for her. Sooyoung just smiled as she shook her head, giving the screwdriver one last twist before slipping the chain onto the track. She pulled the door open as a test and Haseul nodded in satisfaction as it immediately came to a stop. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome. So, what did you want to show me?” Haseul took her by the hand, leading her to her bedroom and Sooyoung frowned at the sight of the new man on her board. “No, absolutely not.” Haseul huffed, pulling off the three articles she had pinned up and showing them to Sooyoung. 

“Look! How could we just stand back and do nothing?” Sooyoung glanced over the pages before just pushing them back towards Haseul. 

“You know why we can’t and nowhere here does it say that he did these things.”

“But we all know that he did!” Sooyoung sighed, sitting down at the foot of her bed and motioning for Haseul to join her. “No, I could prove it!” Haseul insisted stubbornly and Sooyoung just shook her head, patting the empty space beside her again. Disappointed at her reaction, Haseul reluctantly set the papers on her desk before sitting down next to her and letting her take her hand.

“Haseul… we can’t get rid of all the bad people in the world.” She said softly, stroking her tense knuckles and feeling her slowly relax. “That’s not something we can fix so easily.”

“I know but we can start somewhere.” Haseul muttered after a pause.

“I know… just not him.” They sat in silence for a moment before Sooyoung chuckled quietly, trying to ease the tension. “Those crime shows you keep watching are planting too many ideas in your head.” 

“But I’m learning a lot!”

“It’s a fictional show!” Sooyoung laughed and Haseul peered at her, pulling her hand away and crossing her arms. 

“Whatever…” Seeing her so pouty, Sooyoung threw her arms around her and fell back onto the bed, making her yelp as she took her down with her. Haseul landed on her arm and Sooyoung watched her steadily, absolutely hating the sight of her discontentedness but there was nothing she could really do. 

“Stop doing that.” Sooyoung teased, propping herself up on her elbow and leaning over Haseul as she pressed her thumb against the crease between her brows. Haseul only frowned harder. “I said stop!” Sooyoung removed her thumb and leaned down, quickly placing a peck there and Haseul’s lips wavered for a moment before pursing again. “I saw that!”  

“Saw what?” And at her denial, Sooyoung landed another kiss on her forehead and another one on her nose, peppering her face with little kisses until Haseul eventually just broke, giggling at the contact. “Stop! You’re so annoying!” Sooyoung smiled, cupping her face. 

“And you’re so cute.” She said as she tapped her nose gently and Haseul leaned up, pretending to bite her finger. Sooyoung laughed quietly at the gesture considering how nonthreatening she looked and she watched her gentle eyes and felt the softness of her skin beneath her fingertips, floating in the moment before opening her mouth again. “I’m really glad I met you.” Haseul’s breath hitched at her sudden candidness.  

“Me too.” Sooyoung thumb lifted from her cheek, running it slowly across her slightly parted lips and her eyes finally fell from hers, now fixated by her mouth instead. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

“Yes.” And Sooyoung finally lowered herself, capturing Haseul’s soft lips between hers, the two smiling at the contact they have so longed for for months and as the night grew, they found their way beneath tousled bed sheets, with heavy breaths and pounding hearts, Sooyoung realizing how deeply infatuated she was with the girl that lie beneath her and how willing she was to do anything just to keep her safe.

* * *

 

_“You see, people tend to underestimate pigeons, thinking they’re these stupid animals that swarm parks and outdoor restaurants, annoying the shit out of everyone. But no one gives them the credit they really deserve or really thinks about the strengths in their traits. And to be quite honest, I think they’re admirable, impressive really and that being called a pigeon might be the greatest compliment of all. Because no matter what circumstances they’re in or what places they’re at, no matter how many times they’re shooed away or knocked down, they always come hopping back to try again. That’s resilience. The fact that they’re always paying attention to their surroundings and understanding the things around them, actually thinking carefully about their actions before doing them. That’s perception. And the way that they’re always focused and driven whether it be towards their goals or the people they have bonded with. That’s devotion. I’m not a fan of being sappy and shit but if it was your unyielding temper that drew me towards you, it was these things that kept me here. You remind me of my sister… I only wish she were as resilient as you.”_

 

* * *

 

Jinsoul didn’t quite know what she was looking for as she ambled through the local library but she didn’t know where else to go, considering the endless hours she had spent on Google, searching for even the slightest hint of an explanation had proven fruitless. 

Thankfully, it being a weekday, the place wasn’t too crowded and she was free to roam around, absentmindedly running her fingers down the spines of the books on their shelves as she waited for something to jump out at her. But nothing ever did and she sighed in resignation as she left that aisle and headed into the next, only to run straight into a book cart.

Jinsoul yelped in pain as she fell onto the ground and the girl who had been pushing the cart immediately stopped, coming around and reaching out a hand to help her up. But upon making contact with her, Jinsoul felt oddly unsettled and she stared at the girl for a moment, watching her as she furrowed her brow in concern.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry about that.” 

“I’m fine! Sorry, I’m not very good at taking in my surroundings.” Jinsoul laughed and upon seeing the girl’s name tag, she had an idea. “Hey, do you work here?” The girl nodded.

“Yeah, can I help you with something?” 

“Do you know where I can find a book about scars?” The girl raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Did you want a medical book or something?” Jinsoul shook her head.

“No, I’ve looked in medical books already… These are different.” The girl just continued her dull stare. 

“How so?”

“Like the colors don’t look right and they come in these different shapes and they feel… kind of weird. I don’t really know how to explain it.” At this, her eyes seemed to flash in recognition for a moment before she quietly headed off to an aisle across the library and unsure of what else to do, Jinsoul followed her, walking through shelves and shelves of books until she finally stopped in the far back section that was marked “Occult/Paranormal”. The girl pulled a thick book out from the bottom shelf and dropped it open on a nearby table, flipping quickly through the pages until she found the one she was looking for.

“Like these?” She asked, pointing to the picture and Jinsoul’s eyes widened at the illustrated carnage on the page in front of her, at the differently shaped scars that looked carved upon the body parts and of the three creatures that were drawn laughing raucously over a flame. 

“Yes, just like these.” Her hands traced over the words beneath the creatures, her curiosity now paired with a deep concern. “Are these their names?” Jinsoul asked, looking up at the girl who appeared to be staring at the book in deep concentration. “Zim-” She whipped her head up to realize that Jinsoul was just reading out of the book but immediately slammed her palm down, covering the rest of the names. 

“Don’t.” She said sternly and upon meeting Jinsoul’s fearful eyes, she paused. “You need to be careful.” Despite her confusion, Jinsoul felt the heaviness behind her words and she nodded before trying to take the book from the hands that felt so reluctant to give it up. 

“Thank you. I will.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)   
>  [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


	8. the true goat

_Zala sighed at the lump in the bed, watching as the glassy eyed girl stared blankly at the wall._

_“The first one is always the hardest. You’ll get used to it soon enough.”_

_But she could still feel the crunch of his ribs beneath her blade, still hear the way he screamed in anguish and thrashed with each time she missed again and again._

_That idea terrified Sooyoung._

_“This is not something I want to become calloused to.”_

_Zala hummed in thought and there was a sudden shift in weight at the foot of the bed as she climbed on._

_“You know, sometimes people like to assume a different persona.” Sooyoung rolled over wordlessly as Zala crawled to the head of the bed, sitting down next to her. “Like it helps them to feel separate from the things they have to do.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Like how a bank robber might put on a mask or a vigilante might put on a costume. Hiding their identity is only a small part of that. People find it easier to pretend to be someone else and do things they normally wouldn't when no one knows who they are.”_

_“So you think that wearing a fucking mask will make me feel better when I go out, kidnapping and stabbing people for your pleasure?” Zala chuckled softly as Sooyoung peered at her in annoyance._

_“I mean it does help some people.” Sooyoung thought about it for a moment before finally forcing herself out of bed to the sound of Zala’s clapping and she pulled a gift bag out of her closet before tossing it at her._

_“How’s this?” Zala pulled the bag open, immediately grimacing at the sight and pulling out the rubber goat head with two fingers._

_“What is with this fucking goat agenda?”_

_“Someone gave it to me after a fight.”_

_She dropped it into the bag, shoving it back towards Sooyoung who accepted it in confusion. “What do you have against goats anyway? I thought it was supposed to be the devil’s thing.” Zala huffed in frustration at her comment._

_“That’s just propaganda. God shoved those shitheads to us because he didn’t know what else to do with them.” Sooyoung stared in surprise. “Yeah, they’re troublesome and disobedient, always just doing whatever the hell they want and never doing what they're supposed to. I remember how they would eat all our crops and wander all over the fucking place and get stuck in bushes all the damn time. Even Lucifer got fed up and chopped off their tails to keep them from getting stuck."_

_Zala seemed deep in thought, spitting her words as thought she had a personal vendetta against the creatures. But she was just remembering the days where she would wake screaming to the goat that Bim had snuck into their bedroom, staring at her with its lifeless eyes. Then she looked back at Sooyoung, suddenly remembering her question._

_“But yeah, that’s fine. If that’s how you want to represent yourself… just wear that then.”_

_“Okay…” Sooyoung muttered, peering at the darkness behind the goat’s hollowed eyes._

 

* * *

 

[Prior to Jinsoul's visit] 

 

“Come on!” Haseul grumbled as she stood there with the gas nozzle already in her car, punching at the fuel dispenser button. But it just wasn’t working. She stood up on her tiptoes looking through the glass of the store to see the attendant passed out at the counter and she groaned, not knowing what else to do. 

The fluorescent bulb above her flickered and she shivered with the sudden chill in the air. It was getting late but Kermit was as good as dead, spluttering to a stop in the middle of the street minutes before and forcing her to push it into the gas station. But she was growing more and more terrified, looking out at the vast darkness that surrounded the eerily lit gas station. 

The streets were empty, the only movement being in the traffic light’s occasional change in colors and it was silent aside from the passing wind and the rustle of the leaves.

Feeling deeply uneasy, Haseul climbed into her car, quickly locking all the doors before pulling out her phone to ask Sooyoung for a ride home. But before she could click the call button, there was a loud rap on the window, startling her and making her fumble with her phone. It dropped, sliding somewhere deep beneath her seat and she cursed beneath her breath before whipping her head up. 

Her blood ran cold at the sight of him, at his wide eyes and the same toothy grin that had been staring at her from her wall for weeks. 

“Dr. Surok.” 

The revered professor cocked his head, gesturing for her to roll down her window and she reluctantly did so, albeit minimally.

“Hi, Haseul. Funny seeing you here. Did you need help?” She shook her head, forcing a kind smile despite her pounding heart nearly deafening her.

“My friend is on the way.” She lied. “But thank you!” He only tsked, putting a hand onto the roof of her car and leaning closer.

“There’s no need to waste your friend's time. I can take you home.” He chuckled, gesturing to the black car he had parked in the far back, out of the bubble of the fluorescent light and concealed by the darkness. She couldn’t stop herself from gulping at the sight.

“It’s okay!” She laughed nervously, unable to really mask the shakiness from her voice any longer. “She should be here soon.” He just raised a brow before glancing at his watch.

“Great, then I’ll wait with you.” Haseul’s eyes widened and she waved her hand dismissively, wanting nothing more than for him to just leave.

“No! It’s fine. I’ll be okay, thank you!” At these words, he peered at her and leaned closer, his warm smile beginning to melt into a smirk. 

“No, I don’t think so.” He uttered in a low voice, his words leaving a threatening fog on the glass and Haseul flinched at the sudden change, at the darkness that had begun to crawl into his eyes and the gloved hands that were beginning to rise. ”You see, I don’t think anyone’s coming.” 

“Huh?” She barely breathed out as she slowly leaned away from the window. “No, she’s coming. She’s almost here.” 

He just shook his head, his smile so outstretched that it looked unnatural. 

"Why would she come if you never called her?" 

Before the words even settled in her head, he slammed a fist against her window, cracking the glass and Haseul screamed, frantically unbuckling her seatbelt as she tried to climb over to the passenger seat, only to be trapped in place. There was another thump, shaking the car, as his fist came ramming into the glass again. 

Haseul's eyes darted around her seat, trying to figure out why she couldn't move when she found her jacket trapped in the door. 

"Fuck!" She breathed shakily and tugged her arms out from its sleeves when his fist finally broke through the window, shattering the glass around her. Haseul yelped, throwing her leg over the panel in between the seats as he reached into the car to pull up the lock but before she could make it over, he had already thrown the door open. 

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" He laughed, grabbing her by the back of her shirt and yanking her out of the car. 

Haseul grasped desperately at the open air, for something, anything to ground her but there was nothing and he dragged her kicking and flailing towards his car. 

"Let me go!" She screamed but he just tightened his grip, jerking her forward roughly. 

"Save your breath, sweetheart. No one can hear you." He pulled open the backseat, finally releasing her with a shove and she fell onto knees, crawling forward as quickly as she could only to be grabbed by the ankles and pulled back to him. "Hey, relax."

"Hey, relax! You're okay." Haseul felt a hand stroking her hair ever so gently. "It's okay." She took a shaky breath as she opened her eyes, feeling the tears that had run hot down her face. 

"Sooyoung?" She asked hoarsely and the other girl nodded, caressing her cheek and wiping the tears away with her thumb. 

"You had a bad dream."

Haseul blinked as she sat up, slowly taking in her bedroom and her eyes froze at the single photo on the bulletin board, at the disgusting face she had just barely escaped from and her heart pounded, still feeling his rough hands around her arms and his stale breath upon her lips. Upon noticing her reaction, Sooyoung sat up behind her slowly, enveloping the girl in her arms. She was surprised to feel her tremble in her embrace. "Hey, what's wrong?" 

Haseul didn't answer, just turning around and burying her face into Sooyoung's chest, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist. Sooyoung kissed the top of her head, rubbing her circles into her back as she eyed the photo that had driven her into such a frenzy, only to sigh quietly. 

Sooyoung didn't like how much this was beginning to affect her. 

She was hesitant to leave for work that morning but upon Haseul’s insistence, she finally did, leaving the girl alone in her apartment. And when Haseul finally climbed out of bed, she felt his eyes following her as she made her way around her room until she pulled a marker from her desk, roughly scratching over his eyes until she couldn’t see them anymore. Until he couldn’t see her anymore.

She collapsed into her chair, eyeing the three articles that sat on her desk, the three stories that had already haunted her so much, before pulling her laptop open. 

This was no where enough to catch him.

 

* * *

 

_Zala was right._

_The mask really did help and Sooyoung quickly fell into her work, growing tough and merciless over the next few months with it on. But Zala hated that damn mask, always scowling at the sight of the eerie goat head sitting on her lanky body._

_So naturally, she sought to get even._

_Zala took to leaving various bird themed trinkets on Sooyoung’s table as an after-kill gift before coming out to the woods to see her work and she would always laugh upon seeing Sooyoung’s reaction once she returned home._

_“I thought I told you I fucking hate birds.” Sooyoung would growl, pretending to toss the gift into the trash but Zala would always find it sitting on a shelf the next day._

_“Aw, that’s so cute, Sooyoung. You really do appreciate me.” To which the girl would slam her bedroom door, leaving Zala giggling alone in the living room. She always knew how to push her buttons._

_It was August when Sooyoung left her bedroom, her leather jacket draped over her arm and her face strangely done up. Zala peeked up curiously, watching as she looked at herself one last time before checking her Uber’s ETA._

_“Where are you going? You know it’s a full moon tonight, right?”_

_“Yes, I do. I’ll take care of it after the party, don’t worry.” Sooyoung scoffed at her, pulling on her backpack and at her Uber’s arrival, she waved a quick goodbye before shutting the door behind her._

_Zala shrugged, disappearing into a nearby thrift store and searching for the ugliest damn bird collectible she could find before settling on two misshapen blobs that were supposed to be dove salt and pepper shakers. She pocketed them before returning to Sooyoung’s kitchen and placed them gently onto the table, turning them so that their little beaks could do the kissy kissy._

_Zala beamed as she dusted her hands off, putting them on her hips and looking proudly at her display._

_“Wow, that’s so cute!” Rang through the room and Zala turned just in time to see her older sister throw an arm around her shoulder, leaning in to see the little birds. “What a nice gift!”_

_“Bim, when did you get back?”_

_“Just an hour ago… I couldn’t make any contracts.” Zala stared in confusion._

_“You’ve been gone for over a year. Where have you been staying then?” Bim laughed sheepishly, raising a hand to scratch the side of her head._

_“I um… might have gotten lost in an IKEA.”_

_“So, you’ve been living at an IKEA… for a year. Bim, why didn’t you just teleport?” Bim just smiled brightly, snapping her head up to look at the apartment she had landed in._

_“I forgot. Anyway, what’s going on here?” She ran her hands over the punching bag in the corner. “A fighter?” Zala nodded, glancing up at the clock on the wall._

_“You’re actually back right on time. There’s going to be a sacrifice in a few hours.” Bim rolled her eyes, putting a finger in her open mouth and pretending to gag._

_“Gross, where is she now?”_

_“At some party.” And at that, Bim’s eyes lit up._

_“Well, what are we doing here?”_

 

* * *

 

[After Jinsoul’s visit/Present] 

 

Haseul tapped her foot anxiously as her eyes darted between the two men, watching their silent exchanges as they flipped through her folder of notes and highlighted articles that she had been gathering through her sleepless nights. And ten minutes passed before one finally cleared his throat, shutting the folder and looking back up at Haseul.

“Well, what do you expect us to do with this?” The policeman asked, pushing the pages back towards her and she stared at him, completely stunned.  

“What do you mean? You’re the police! Arrest him or something!” He looked over at his partner, tsking as he tapped a finger on the folder. 

“Look, this is all speculation. We can’t do anything with this.” Haseul huffed, opening up the folder and pointing to an article.

“He’s been arrested _four_ times already _because_ of this evidence but you guys keep letting him go!” The man gave her a condescending smile, moving her hand away to shut the folder again before pushing it towards her.

“It’s not enough and come on, Dr. Surok is a nice guy who was let off fairly. I don’t understand why you girls keep trying to get him into trouble.” 

“He-” Haseul shut her eyes for a moment, letting out a slow exhale to ease the anger from seeping from her chest, realizing that it was pointless to argue with these guys. They weren’t going to be any help. She slid the folder from the counter, tucking it beneath her arm and muttering a quick thanks before leaving the building.

Haseul couldn’t understand it. Everything was right there, so plain to see but no one was fucking looking. She growled in frustration, tossing the folder onto the seat next to her and yanked her seatbelt aggressively down over her chest when she had a sudden thought. 

She reached forward, opening the glove compartment with a click and there lie the stupid pigeon mask. Haseul pulled it out, dropping it onto her lap before opening her folder once again, squinting as she flipped through the pages, trying to find his schedule. 

If more evidence was what they needed, then she was going to get it for them. 

 

* * *

 

At the sound of the door clicking, Jungeun perked her head up to see Jinsoul smiling and gesturing for her to follow her out and Jungeun quickly stood up, dropping her magazine back onto the table. 

The December air welcomed them as they stepped out of the building and Jungeun shivered with the chill, shoving her hands into her pockets. Seeing her shiver, Jinsoul hooked her arm with hers, pulling the other girl closer.

“So, what did the doctor say?” Jungeun asked and Jinsoul pursed her lips, recalling their meeting.

"He couldn't figure out what was wrong but they're going to take some blood next week. Kind of exciting, right?" Jinsoul nudged Jungeun with her elbow and the other girl just fell back against her in response, making the pair stumble a bit as they walked to the bus stop. 

"Kind of scary." Jungeun muttered and Jinsoul laughed upon seeing the frown on her face. 

"Why do you look so worried? I'm sure it's nothing." 

"It might not be." 

Jinsoul just shook her head, smiling warmly at the girl but she wouldn't make eye contact. 

"Why do you always assume the worst?" 

Jungeun said nothing, looking deep in thought as they sat on the bench, waiting for their bus to arrive. Jinsoul watched as she subconsciously raised a hand to rub at her collar while her brows furrowed with concern. "Jungie?" Jinsoul poked her in the side and she finally looked up, her face slightly relaxing upon meeting Jinsoul's earnest eyes. "You'd tell me if something's up, right?" 

Jungeun's breath hitched at the sudden question and she let out an airy laugh, watching her breath rise in the cold air. 

"Of course." 

Jinsoul steadily watched her as she pressed on.

"Then tell me." 

It suddenly became very tense as Jungeun paused, taking her bottom lip between her teeth and she exhaled shakily as her eyes left Jinsoul's face to look at the passing traffic. 

"I don't know if I can." Her hands fidgeted with themselves and Jinsoul took them in her own, gently brushing her thumb over her knuckles in an attempt to soothe her. 

"You can tell me anything." 

She look pained when she finally turned to look at Jinsoul again.

"I can't." 

The sight broke her and Jinsoul pouted, bringing her hands to Jungeun's face. 

"I can help you." Her thumbs lightly caressed her cheek and she could feel the growing heat emanating from beneath her cold palms. 

"You don't have to." Jungeun was barely able to breathe out and Jinsoul just shook her head, continuing on. 

"I want to." She inhaled shakily as she gathered the courage to finally say what she wanted. "I care about you. A lot." 

"Oh." Jungeun tried to duck her head down shyly but it was difficult to when she was held so firmly in Jinsoul's grasp. 

"So, can you tell me what's wrong?"

The sound of a screech brought their attention to the bus that was pulling up and Jungeun quickly stood up before extending a hand to help Jinsoul up. 

"Ah, we should go now."

 

* * *

 

_They arrived at its peak and the moment the two girls stepped into the house, Bim's eyes widened in amusement as she took everything in._

_"Wow."_

_Zala only frowned in annoyance, crossing her arms tightly against her chest._

_"Well, I fucking hate it already." She shouted over the pounding music and Bim only bounced along, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her further into the house._

_"Where's your client?" Zala peered around the room before finally finding the familiar lanky figure, laughing as she was surrounded by people._

_"There she is."_

_Zala couldn't help but to smile, feeling weirdly proud at how happy she looked and Bim giggled, slapping her back._

_"She looks nice! Anyway, I'm going to go party. You let me know when we're heading out." And before Zala could protest, she disappeared into the living room, leaving her grumbling as she tried to seek refuge in an empty room upstairs._

_There were some perks that came with having a human body, perks which Bim had learned before any of her sisters._

  1. __She could get high with a human body. Bim drifted around the room hazily, giggling with the gummies that she swallowed one after another before being passed the microphone and killing every song she was asked to sing. Not necessarily in a good way.__
  2. _She could get drunk with a human body. Bim bumbled into the kitchen, laughing loudly with strangers and sharing stories about people she had never heard of as she downed bottle after bottle. The blonde in front of the kitchen counter would smile at her, surprisingly keeping up with her as she asked her to pass her another and another each time she saw her open a new one._



_Unfortunately, as a demon, much like how they quickly recovered from injury or pain, these effects didn't last very long so she was forced to continuously chase her high, eating more or smoking more or drinking more until Zala finally made her grouchy appearance, forcing her out of the house._

_"I was just starting to have fun." Bim whined and Zala shook her head in annoyance as she grabbed her by the wrist, sending them into the woods._

_"It's time."_

 

* * *

 

Sooyoung was livid and the sheer foolishness of it all made her shake as she seethed. 

There on the news was blurry security footage of Haseul in her pigeon mask, peeking from behind a bush with a massive camera. The subtitle scrolled across the screen, describing her as a stalker and asking for students to keep an eye out for her and Sooyoung stood up, forcing an exhale as she felt her anger begin to claw at her chest once again, just begging for a taste of fresh air. 

"Calm down." She muttered to herself beneath her breath, before making her way to Haseul's apartment next door. 

Sooyoung knocked once, then twice and as she raised her fist to begin pounding in impatience, Haseul finally opened the door with the chain lock still in place. 

"Haseul, let me in." Sooyoung demanded through gritted teeth but the other girl just pursed her lips through the crack. 

"What do you need?" 

"What do I- Just open the door!" 

Haseul sighed before shutting the door to pull the lock off and as soon as it opened again, Sooyoung pushed her way in only to grow deeply concerned. 

"I thought we were done with this." She said, bending down to pick up all of the papers from the ground. "Is this it?" Haseul hesitance was enough of an answer and despite her protesting, Sooyoung threw her bedroom door open to find her wall plastered with a ridiculous amount of papers, a jarring juxtaposition to the mere photo she had up the week before when Sooyoung had slept over. 

"Haseul, this is the work of a crazy person." She uttered, almost staring in fear at the sight in front of her. She turned back around to look at the girl who was biting her lip. "I thought we agreed to drop this." 

Haseul had never seemed so small as she walked up to the board, her eyes almost seeming to plead. 

"I can almost prove it's him." Her voice nearly broke and Sooyoung could see the exhaustion in her eyes, making her heart ache. "I'm so close." 

Sooyoung took her face into her hands, running a gentle thumb over the bags beneath her eyes. 

"Have you been sleeping?" Haseul's eyes closed for a moment as she melted into the contact but she remained adamant, taking Sooyoung by the wrist and pulling her closer to the board. 

"Sooyoung, look-" But Sooyoung just shook her head, noting how paranoid and disheveled and tired Haseul now looked. She exhaled heavily, forcing her heart to harden for a moment as she placed her hands onto her shoulders. 

"No, _you_ look. You almost got caught." Sooyoung stated sternly and Haseul paused, just staring at her as she spoke. "You can't… I can't let you do this anymore." 

"What do you mean?" Her voice barely came out above a whisper and Sooyoung gestured to the wall. 

"This is getting out of hand. Our arrangement is over. You don't have to help me anymore, okay? You're free." 

Haseul didn't seem happy at all to hear that and she looked down, tears beginning to pool in her eyes. 

"I'm not." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Sooyoung, he _haunts_ me. I can't sleep knowing he's still out there, knowing all the things he's done. He won't leave my fucking head." 

The despair in her voice was heartbreaking but Sooyoung couldn't do anything about it, not when he was such a highly respected man. His disappearance would be too noticeable. 

"You know why we can't."

Haseul clutched onto Sooyoung's hands tightly, no longer restraining herself from begging.

"Just this once! We can stage a runaway or something. I've seen them do it on Criminal Minds." Sooyoung tugged her hand out of her grip, forcing her eyes away from Haseul's as she began looking through her things. "What are you doing?" She ignored her, pulling out her drawers before sifting through a bin beneath her desk. "Hey!" Finally, tucked somewhere deep beneath a pile of papers, she found her pigeon mask and Sooyoung silently walked it to the kitchen with Haseul following her close behind. "Sooyoung!" 

Sooyoung turned on the stove, letting the fire kiss the mask before running it out to the balcony outside the living room and dropping it into a tin pail, both girls watching as it slowly became engulfed in flames.

Haseul just stared in stunned silence, frozen in place until Sooyoung slowly walked her back into her home and sat her on the couch before disappearing into her bedroom. 

Haseul flinched with the sounds of the paper being torn off her walls but she had resigned to Sooyoung, too tired to fight with her anymore. It was pointless if she wasn't listening. Minutes later, she emerged with a massive pile in hand. 

"You don't have to worry about any of this anymore, okay?" She stated, gesturing to the papers and Haseul just watched her numbly. "But if it makes you feel any safer, you can come stay at my apartment." Sooyoung eyed her, waiting for a response and finally she nodded, standing up slowly, mentally preparing herself for the cleared walls she'd soon see.

"Let me get my things." 

 

* * *

 

 

It was a lot to process. 

The demons and the contracts and the eternal damnation.

Jinsoul shut the book in complete fear and confusion, trying to connect the dots between her friends and come up with the slightest idea as to why they'd even think to consult the underworld for help, before she finally got up to call Haseul and share the news.

But of course, Haseul wasn't picking up again, not that Jinsoul was too surprised anymore. 

Once again, she was on her own. 

The sun was just beginning to set when Jinsoul let herself into Jungeun's dorm and Jiwoo watched in amusement as she briskly headed towards Jungeun's bedroom. 

"I don't think she's home. It's been pretty quiet." She called out after her but Jinsoul banged on the door anyway. 

"Hey, Jungeun! Open up!" 

Jiwoo gritted her teeth nervously, fearing the door might break with her endless pounding.

"Just call her!" And Jinsoul pulled out her phone, dialing Jungeun's number and pressing it against her ear only to hear it ring from inside the bedroom. She lowered her phone stopped at the sound of a whispered curse before the ringing immediately ceased.

"Jungeun?" 

There was another mutter before the door unlocked and the girl appeared, peeking through the crack. 

"Hi." 

Jinsoul frowned, trying to push it all the way open and step into her bedroom only to be blocked. 

"What's going on?" Jungeun chuckled sheepishly, turning to look behind her. 

"Um, I'm kind of sick." She feigned a cough before continuing. "You should go. I don't want you to get worse." 

"I'm fine… and so are you." Jungeun gave a wide grin before trying to slam the door shut only to have it caught by Jinsoul's foot. "Hey!" 

Jinsoul threw her shoulder against the door, finally stumbling into Jungeun's room and the other girl screamed, running away from her. 

"Jungeun, I know about your contract!" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" She yelled back and Jinsoul dove across the bed, catching her by the thigh, hugging it tightly in her arms. "Ah, get off!" Jungeun tried to shake her head off to no avail until she met the falling sun through her window and panicking, she just started smacking it with her palm. 

"Nice try! I have the skull of steel- Ow, stop it!" Jungeun had begun hitting her head with her wallet and the moment Jinsoul's grip slightly loosened, Jungeun burst out of it, throttling towards the bathroom.

There was no more time.

Jinsoul came sprinting right after her, clutching her head in pain when she found Jungeun trying to throw open the little window near the sink. She let herself take a breath, having finally cornered her in the restroom. 

"Jungeun, you can't escape anymore. Just tell me." Jungeun's head darted to the window in a panic, noting the orange glow in the sky. 

"I can't. Seriously, just go." She said, motioning Jinsoul to leave but she remained adamant, planting her feet into the ground. 

"I'm not leaving." Jungeun let out a sigh before grabbing Jinsoul by the sides of her face. 

"Then I'm sorry about this."

Jinsoul only had time to raise a brow in confusion before Jungeun slammed her head backwards against the wall. 

"Ow, what the heck was that for?" She yelped in pain and Jungeun widened her eyes in panic before shoving her out into the hall.

"Sorry, I was trying to knock you out!" 

"Well, you suck!"

The sky was beginning to turn dark now and Jungeun wordlessly ran back into the bathroom, pulling the door closed behind her. Jinsoul just sighed at the sight, holding her hand to the bump that was forming on the back of her head. "Jungeun, you can't get out of there without talking to me." She said as she opened the door. "The window is too-" Jinsoul froze, gasping as she watched the owl, _her_ owl, turned to look at her before flying out the window. "-small."

* * *

 

 

Haseul couldn’t curb her antsiness, her leg bouncing endlessly as she sat on the couch, staring irritably at the television screen. She had gotten so close, had gathered so much evidence against the disgusting man but Sooyoung had torn her away from it all, forcing her to be a mere bystander in a case she had grown too familiar with. 

He followed her on her walls, in her dreams, and in the news of the missing girls but despite no one ever saying his name, all the signs pointed to him.

Never in her months of research had she found someone so deserving of having the life drained from their body. It truly was unfortunate that Sooyoung had spared him.

She felt her eyes that were heavy with fatigue begin to droop again and as soon as she met the darkness, images of the battered bodies and the broken limbs flashed through her head and she shuddered, forcing herself awake. Haseul reached forward, shakily bringing the cup of coffee to her lips once again, trying to shake the drowsiness from her body.

“If you don’t sleep, you won’t have the nightmares.” She whispered to herself, wrapping her arms tightly around a pillow. There was a loud rap against the window and her heart pounded against her chest as she whipped her head to the sound, only to see a tree branch shaking with the wind.

She didn't like this at all.

She hated waiting. She hated being told to relax. 

She hated being so scared all the time. 

Haseul glanced up at the clock on the wall, counting down the minutes until Sooyoung would return and seeing that it would be soon, she readjusted her position on the couch, accidentally moving onto the remote and changing the channel. 

And there he was, walking onto the stage to the soundtrack of applause and smiling out to the crowd before speaking into a microphone. 

Haseul really couldn't escape him. 

God, she _really_ couldn't escape him.

She ran a hand through her hair, watching intently as his hands grasped the podium tightly, her breath growing unsteady as she saw those same hands around the broken necks in the pictures that once hung on her walls. Those rough lips that his smooth words spilled from pressing gently on dirt streaked cheeks.

It wasn’t right. 

The cheering and the overwhelming support. His ridiculous smile, the happiness he felt so strongly. 

It wasn't right. 

Not when there were bodies in the ground because of him. Not when families were being devastated or students were growing afraid. Not when she couldn't sleep. 

Haseul's eyes darted around the screen before landing on the red box in the top right corner and she gasped in realization. 

This was live. 

He was there right now. 

Haseul hadn't realized that she'd gotten up from the couch and was now standing directly in front of the television screen, watching so closely that she could see the pixels shift with the images.

She reached a hand out, her finger tracing the school logo that hung on a banner above his head.

No more watching. No more waiting. No more being a fucking coward.

She was going to finally do something tonight.

Sooyoung came home to a brightly lit apartment and the door slightly ajar and she immediately paused, dread quickly consuming her as a thousand scenarios ran through her head. She gently nudged in the door in with her foot, holding her breath as it slowly creaked open and she peeked in before taking a tentative step forward. 

"Haseul?" Sooyoung called out but she was greeted by silence. She quietly set her helmet on the table by the front and took in the room, eyeing half drunken cup of coffee on the table and the commercials playing on the television. 

Something was wrong and at the sight of a shirt poking from her bedroom door, Sooyoung briskly walked in with her fists raised, her panic now overriding any caution she had before. 

“Hello?” 

The room was empty but her closet was wide open, her drawers half out and her clothes tousled and unfolded as if someone had carelessly sifted through all her things, looking for something. And at the sight of the brown box kicked under her bed, Sooyoung realized what it was.

She knelt onto her knees and reached for it, praying that she wasn’t right but the lightness of the box was testament enough. Her fears were only further confirmed when she pulled the lid off only to be greeted by the bottom of the box.

The goat mask was gone. 

“Pick up, pick up, pick up.” Sooyoung muttered beneath her breath, running a shaky hand through her hair as she frantically paced around her bedroom, her phone pressed tightly against her ear. But she was met by Haseul's voicemail again and again and again, the voice that had once done so much to soothe her uneasiness now only heightening it. 

And then the endless chatter and jingles of the commercials from the television came to an end and it returned to the main event, a solo voice booming through the speaker.

Sooyoung lowered her phone, walking out to her living room to see what was on when she saw the professor smiling brightly as he returned to the podium, a crowd exploding with applause.

And then she saw the blinking red square in the corner and the car keys that were missing from the hook in the front.

“Fuck!” 

 

* * *

 

Jinsoul didn’t know what to think as Jiwoo drove her home, the image of the brown feathers that had disappeared through the window burned deep into her mind.

There was no other explanation. It was Jungeun. Jungeun who came into class with her tired eyes and her heavy bags. Jungeun with her sudden secrets and refusal to hang out at night. 

She was the owl who had been watching over Jinsoul so dutifully. 

“Why are you making deals with demons…” Jinsoul muttered under her breath when she finally returned to her own bedroom and her eyes fell upon the heavy book that had made residence upon her desk. The librarian’s strange warning flashed through her head but she was tired of being left in the dark, tired of not knowing what the hell was going on.

She was worried for Jungeun. 

Jinsoul opened the book, deftly flipping to the page she had grown so familiar with over the past few nights before meeting the three creatures once again. She could feel the sheer amount of power radiating from the mere drawing. But she didn't know what else to do.

“Zim Zala Bim.” Her fingers traced the names as they fell from her lips and immediately there was a loud thump in the living room followed by muffled arguing. “Hello?” 

The voices became hushed and Jinsoul straightened up, cautiously walking out of her room to see two girls in the midst of a game of rock-paper-scissors. When the taller girl looked up at her entrance, the purple haired girl quickly switched her own move accordingly and upon seeing the results, the first girl huffed, crossing her arms and falling into the couch. Jinsoul’s jaw dropped. “Are you guys…”

The girl who had won flashed an impossibly bright smile, her eyes wild with glee. 

“Hello! I’m Bim and that is my sister Zala.” She gestured to the couch where the other girl just grunted in response. “Can I help you with something?” 

“I just had a question.” Jinsoul said, scratching her head and the girl’s smile faltered for just a moment as her sister smirked. 

“Okay, go ahead.”

“You're the one who made a deal with Jungeun, right?" Bim nodded, waiting for her to continue. "What did she need?” She pursed her lips for a moment before looking over at Zala as if she were asking for permission and Zala growled. 

“Do I look like the fucking rulebook?” Bim gritted her teeth in a forced smile. “Of course you can't, you idiot.”

Bim closed her eyes and exhaled, pulling two hands down from the air in front of her face to regain her composure once more before putting on her best customer service smile and turning back to Jinsoul.

“Sorry, I can’t tell you! It’s against the rules! Don’t wanna anger the big boss!” She laughed, pointing downwards with a goofy smile. Disappointed, Jinsoul bowed her head but not wanting her win against Zala to go to waste, Bim spoke up again, hoping she could secure a contract. “I’ve been really rooting for you two though! So cute!” 

“You’ve been watching us?” Jinsoul asked, her brows furrowing in fear and Bim’s chest tingled with the feeling, growing giddy with excitement as ideas already began sprouting from her head. 

“Yes, I love the little dynamic you two have going on! How you’re always taking care of her and how she pretends not to care about you.” 

“I know she watches me as the owl…” Jinsoul muttered and if it were even possible, Bim’s eyes grew even brighter as she clapped. 

“Oh, yes! As the owl! She’s been making sure you get home safely every night and that you don’t get into any trouble. Everything worked out perfectly and Zala here was telling me how stupid it was that I turned her into an owl...”  
  
“Because it doesn’t fucking make sense.” Zala grumbled from the couch and Bim threw up her arms as she turned to face her.

“I’ve explained it to you so many times! Owls can sense death! What is more befitting than having the forewarner of death stop death itself?” 

“Why didn’t you just have Jungeun kill someone to bring someone else back from the dead? Doesn’t that make more sense?” 

“Because I’m not boring like you are!” Suddenly remembering that Jinsoul was still in the room, Bim turned back to her again plastering another smile on her face as she continued trying to bait her.

“Anyway, you guys would make such a sweet couple! She’s been taking such great care of you since you died, so can you imagine-” Jinsoul’s breath hitched and she shook her head quickly as the words settled in her head, raising a hand to stop the rambling demon. 

“Wait, since I what?” And Bim froze, completely losing her smile for the first time that night as Zala slapped a palm to her face. 

“Bim, you stupid bitch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow lots happened here! super spicy!  
> thanks for keeping up this far and as always, let me know what u think! 
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


	9. bim's contract pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's been a while!! here's a short update!!!

_ Jungeun quirked an eyebrow in amusement as she watched Jinsoul being handed another bottle, the blonde throwing her head back in raucous laughter before downing the drink with her new friend on the other side of the counter. _

_ The two pored over stupid jokes for a moment, the purple haired girl waving her hands in excitement as she spoke while Jinsoul nodded, her head seeming to bob of its own accord, her eyes growing blantantly heavy. Jungeun managed to catch her as she began to tip from her stool and she let Jinsoul spill herself over her body, her arms thrown over her shoulders and her head falling limply. _

_ “Whoa, maybe that’s enough for tonight.”  _

_ “Jungie!” Jinsoul whined, peeling herself from her body and sitting as upright as she could, still teetering as she pulled the girl close by her face. “I just finished picking my classes this morning… Let me live.”  Her breath rang hot against her lips and Jungeun rolled her eyes, hoping that the warm room and the settling alcohol was enough of a reason for her blossoming cheeks. _

_ “Fine.”  _

_ With a cheer from the other side of the counter, Jinsoul leaned forward, giggling a bit as she pressed a gentle kiss against the corner of her lips, too lost in the haze of her intoxication to realize she’d left Jungeun in a stunned silence as she received another drink.   _

_ And the hour continued this way, drink after drink after drink until cohesiveness became a stranger among the words that she spoke, Jinsoul no longer able to sit up straight as night grew older. _

_ “Okay, seriously! That’s enough!” Jungeun swatted away the hands of the girl on the other side, pushing the bottle far from Jinsoul’s reaching fingers. The entertainment she had found between the two had long gone and she now found herself concerned as she watched Jinsoul, every movement from her demanding help. The other girl pouted before suddenly being pulled from the room and Jungeun squinted as she left, watching as she seemed completely fine despite the amount of alcohol she had consumed with Jinsoul. But any perplexity she had in regards to her condition was quickly pushed out of her head as Jinsoul toppled to the ground with a loud bang, the stool falling right along with her.  _

_ Jungeun felt her heart drop as the girl’s eyes fluttered shut and she dove to her side, flipping herself onto her back as she called out to her, slapping her arm and pinching her to try to wake her.  _

_ “Hey, get up!” A crowd began to gather, people looking on curiously as Jungeun checked her watch, watching the other girl’s chest rise and fall until she opened her eyes once again, her brows suddenly furrowing as Jungeun let out a sigh of relief. She mumbled something, struggling to stand up, when Jungeun just pushed her down again. “Stay still, I don’t want you to pass out again.” _

_ “I’m fine.” Jungeun was finally able to make out amidst her grumbling but it was nowhere near enough to convince her and she sat, pushing Jinsoul back down each time she came close to getting up again.  _

_ “Just stay still so I could make sure you’re okay!” And at the sound of a sniffle, Jungeun let out an exasperated sigh. “Jesus, why are you crying?” _

_ She wiped roughly at her eyes, spilling words no one could understand as her crying soon grew into sobs and the crowd began to thin, Haseul easily pushing through it once she realized Jinsoul had left her sight. _

_ “Hey, you’re okay.” She said softly, squatting beside her as she wiped her tears away with her sleeves and she turned to Jungeun before helping Jinsoul up, ignoring her protesting as she threw her arm over her shoulder. “I’ve got it from here.”  _

_ With the odor of weed wafting from Haseul, Jungeun was at a loss for words, struggling to her feet and following the two as they began to leave, trying to get them to stay without knowing what to say. _

_ “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” _

_ “I’m fine! I’ve driven like this before.” She didn’t like the sound of that, not too convinced with the way the two were stumbling to the door. _

_ “Are you okay to watch her? I think she might have alcohol poisoning.”  _

_ “Jungeun, seriously! You worry too much! We’ll be fine, right?” And Jinsoul gave a toothy grin, her eyes pulled up in a half moon, as she raised a thumbs up. _

_ “Fine, just call me when you guys get home...” _

_ “Okay, we will!”  _

_ Not knowing what else to do, Jungeun just watched as the doors shut behind them, unable to shake the worry that had begun to consume her. _  
  


* * *

 

As a college student, Yeojin thought about death about as frequently as the rest of her peers, constantly joking about walking into traffic to curb her anxieties about student loans or about overdosing on caffeine just to finish that last paragraph and finally submit her assignment seconds before the deadline.

And like any other college student, Yeojin constantly welcomed death.

She welcomed it when she was handed her last paper, the pages that bled red and the messily scrawled ‘See me!’ at the back. She wanted it when she had spoken to her professor, the man needlessly reminding her of the impending end to the semester and the risk of her failing and having to retake his course. And god how she begged for it as she sat in his seminar, nodding off to his droning voice as she tried to take notes for the extra credit he had so graciously offered to her.

Yeojin spent the evening yawning, bouncing her leg, and tapping her pen against the desk, all tricks she’d found from BuzzFeed to kill a few calories and annoy the shit out of everyone around her. But despite her strenuous efforts, Yeojin jerked awake to a nearly empty auditorium, groaning as she pulled herself up while the few remaining stragglers headed out the back doors.

“Aw, man.” She looked down at her few notes, at the messy scribbles that soon became illegible before becoming a line that ran straight off of the notebook, a clear indication of when she had fallen asleep.

Gathering her things, Yeojin yawned as she left the room, the quietness that surrounded her as she walked the empty halls feeling weird and alien. The campus was always a different place at night, its brightly lit rooms feeling a little creepy without the warm sun peeking through its windows and Yeojin shook her head, beginning to grow a little frightened with her endless thinking. 

She walked through the darkness, her arms pulling tightly around her in an attempt to find warmth amidst the chilly air as she headed towards the bus stop only to freeze at a roar cutting through the silence. Yeojin watched as the bike screeched to a stop by the sidewalk, as a girl pulled her helmet off of her head and tucked it beneath her arm while she ran past her towards the building. 

“If you’re here for the seminar, it’s over!” Yeojin called out to her, noting the panic in her flying eyes and she immediately halted, letting out a shaky breath before slowly turning around and walking back towards her. 

“When did it end?” 

“I’m not sure but everyone’s left.” 

The other girl shut her eyes for a moment, standing so ridiculously still as Yeojin watched on, her hands inching forward to shake her back to reality when she suddenly snapped back, pulling her helmet over her head before climbing back onto her bike. 

She paused for a moment, watching Yeojin steadily. 

“It’s getting late. You should be careful.”

“Okay, thanks?” And the girl zoomed out of the lot, Yeojin rolling her eyes at her dramatic exit before settling onto the bench at the bus stop and putting her airpods on, listening to ocean sounds to distract herself from the creepiness of the night. 

But the peace didn’t last and soon enough a car pulled up alongside the street, slowing as it neared where she sat and Yeojin clutched her bag firmly to her chest, ready to bolt until the window rolled down and she relaxed upon being greeted with a familiar face.

“Yeojin! You’re still here?” 

“Hi, Dr. Surok! Yeah, I’m just waiting for my bus!”

He tsked, smiling as he shook his head and then unlocked the door, gesturing for her to come in. 

“Let me take you home. It’s dark and it’s not safe for a girl like you to be out like this.” 

“It’s fine!” She laughed, dismissing his offer. “I don’t want to be a bother.” 

He waved away her words, leaning over the passenger seat and pushing the door open. 

“Come on! It’s really no bother at all.”

Seeing as he wasn’t taking no for an answer, she just grinned widely, climbing into his car and out of the cold. 

“Thanks!” Yeojin said, pulling on her seatbelt and basking in the newfound warmth and he just chuckled in response, shifting the gear into drive and peeling down the street.

“It’s no problem at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls fuel me by smashing that kudos button below n leaving me feedback whether it be here on thru my cc!!!
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


	10. bim's contract pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi so this update n the previous one were meant to be one chapter but i decided to drop them separately to shorten the time between each update!! i HIGHLY recommend u reread the previous one bc this might seem a little disjointed otherwise!!!
> 
> anyway!! it's been a while so let me do a quick recap:  
> -jinsoul's learned that her mysterious midnight bird friend was actually jungeun all along  
> -haseul had kinda lost her shit with her vigilantism so sooyoung pulled the plug on that n destroyed all her research on dr. surok  
> -haseul ran away to go after him anyway and sooyoung went after her and yeojin (god bless her soul) climbed into his damn car  
> -jinsoul accidentally summoned the demons and bim repaid her by accidentally revealing that she'd been dead all this time so they started to flashback to what had happened from the beginning
> 
> and that's it i think.. let's get back into it!

_The evening soon bled into night and Jungeun found herself checking her phone constantly, wondering if she’d missed the ring amidst the chaos of the room but that was never the case. And as the hours passed, the pit in her stomach only grew bigger and bigger before it swallowed her whole, forcing her out of the house to catch a breath._

_The moonlight peeked from the clouds, breaking across the steps of the porch and Jungeun sat herself down, her warm breath clouding the chill air as she swiped her phone open. She rang Jinsoul first, the droning tone doing nothing but heightening her anxiety more and more each time until finally-_

_“Hey, it’s Jinsoul-”_

_She let out a deep exhale of relief, her hands shaking as she breathed into the phone._

_“Jesus Christ, I told you guys to call me! I’ve been so worried-”_

_“Sorry, I can’t get to the phone right now! Leave a message at the beep!”_

_Beep._

_Jungeun sat in a stunned silence for a moment before hanging up and calling again._

_“Hey, it’s Jinsoul-” And again. “Hey-” And again. And again, until she finally just dropped her phone into her lap, staring into the street._

_She couldn’t help but to let her worries begin to seep like poison, tainting her thoughts. Of course, Jinsoul wasn’t answering her phone. Of course, Jungeun had never bothered to save Haseul’s number. Of course, she just had to let them leave and probably something terrible had happened to them._

_Jungeun shook her head of her thoughts, burying her head into her hands as she tried to figure something out. It was typical of her to spiral, to find herself lost as she navigated through the worst hypotheticals of every situation._

_Surely, everything was fine._

_Sighing, she pulled her head up and tapped through her phone, ordering an Uber. Seeing as there was nothing else she could do, Jungeun figured she might as well pay a visit to Jinsoul’s apartment to see if she made it back okay._

_But she never made it that far._

_The trip back had started in relative calmness, the girl letting her head rest against the glass in a dramatic fashion as they started down the hill. And the driver himself was also a very good man, choosing to keep his mouth shut and stay quiet besides his initial greeting and Jungeun noted to give him a five star rating just for that._

_But as they neared the base of the hill, the man suddenly slowed down the car, tsking as he looked out the window._

_“What’s wrong?” She asked and he merely pointed through the window of the front._

_Jungeun felt her stomach drop as her eyes followed his finger to see the dark skid marks that careened from the road into the woods._

_“That looks bad.” He simply remarked and Jungeun just blinked at the sight, attempting to convince herself that it couldn’t have been them._

_Surely, everything was fine. Surely Jinsoul was tucked into bed back at home and watching that stupid show with the bears that she always liked to talk about._

_But what if she wasn’t._

_Jungeun could taste the alcohol in the back of her throat, the dank odor that’d drifted from Haseul._

_“Stop the car.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“Please, stop the car!”_

_Jungeun didn’t bother waiting for the vehicle to screech to a complete stop before pulling the door open and stumbling out, much to the chagrin of the driver who rolled out his window to call out at her._

_“What the hell are you doing?!”_

_But his words went unheard as she jogged into the trees after the trail, her hands fumbling with the flashlight on her phone and her ears pounding with the beat of her heart._

_“Please be okay.”_

 

* * *

 

The door flew open the third time Sooyoung threw herself against it, slamming against the wall with a loud thud as she stepped into the empty apartment. She flipped the switch, watching the light flicker on as she walked briskly from room to room, pushing boxes and moving cushions,  hoping to find something, anything, just to signal her in the right direction.

But of course, the place seemed to have been untouched since the girl moved next door. 

Haseul hadn’t come home. 

Sooyoung exhaled heavily through her nose, eyeing the pail on the balcony and cursed herself for having burnt everything. There was no way left of knowing where the girl had gone.

“Fuck.” She breathed in frustration, frowning as she ran her hand through her hair and she stood there at a loss, meeting her reflection on the television screen.

But the sight irritated her even more, hating that she was just standing there when she needed to be doing something. Sooyoung tugged her phone out of her pocket, about to call Haseul again when she suddenly remembered the girl’s friend. 

Jinsoul. 

Though it was such a slim chance, it was possible she might know where she was. But Sooyoung’s eyes widened in sudden memory as she swiped open her phone, opting to open another app instead. 

Haseul had been smart enough to use _Find My Friends_ to locate Jinsoul, perhaps Sooyoung could do the same with Haseul.

She watched as the wheels turned on the screen, unable to stop the grin that had begun to take over her face as she waited for the app to load. But when all was done and present, there was nothing at all, the excitement and hope that had taken her disappearing as quickly as it had come.

She shouldn’t have expected anything less from the girl. 

Of course Haseul was smart enough to have turned off her phone.

It took every ounce of self control within her not to scream in exasperation as she spun around and left the room, slamming the door shut as she dialed Jinsoul’s number.

 

* * *

 

_Bim was bored out of her damn mind._

_Not that she was surprised at all because she knew that despite Zala’s constant insistence on what she dubbed brutality, her contracts were just… bland. There was never anything new._

_The violence and the suffering was just as intense as always of course but Bim couldn’t help but to beg the question ringing on her mind:_

_“So, what?”_

_Zala looked up defensively from her client below them that was dragging a man into the clearing, the lanky girl adjusting her goat mask properly on her head before unpacking her belongings._

_“What do you mean, so what?”_

_Bim lifted her legs from the edge of the branch and pulled herself into a squat, wrapping her arms around her knees._

_“So what? She’s just gonna kill the guy and that’s it?”_

_“What do you mean ‘that’s it’? Is this not interesting enough for you?”_

_“I mean you’ve been raving about her all night, I was hoping you had something special planned!"_

_Zala rolled her eyes, gesturing down to the girl below._

_“This is it! I don’t know what the fuck else you want.”_

_Bim hummed for a moment before uncrossing her arms and standing up, her younger sister glancing up in annoyance at her as she stretched loudly._

_“Well, I’m bored so I’m leaving.”_

_“Fine.” The younger girl could barely hide her pout as she grumbled, turning back to watch the ritual, and Bim giggled at the sight, nudging her lightly in the back._

_“Aw, don’t be sad! I’ll catch up with you later, Zala.”_

_“Whatever, just go.”_

_And at that, she grinned widely, shutting her eyes and letting herself fall backwards off the tree before disappearing into the air._

_She reappeared at the edge of the woods, supposing she shouldn’t stray too far so she could catch her sister after everything was over. At the very least they could head home together, Bim figuring she owed the girl that much after having left her alone for the past year._

_And so she strolled, kicking dirt and watching the clouds unravel across the sky, waiting for something of interest to catch her attention._

_It seemed she managed to catch something else’s first._

_A pair of yellow eyes peeked from the darkness of the trees, growing larger as they eased closer and the girl grinned at the sight, squatting as she cooed towards it._

_“Hi.” She called out softly, reaching a hand forward and tsking at it to lure it closer. “Hey, kitty.”_

_The ginger cat sauntered closer, peering curiously at her and sniffing at her fingers, Bim laughing quietly at its wet nose before it butted her hand with its head. She immediately obliged, showering the cat with attention and scratching the top of its head and behind its ears before rubbing its cheeks with her thumbs._

_And when it’d had enough, the cat wriggled its head from her hands, purring loudly as it sat down, licking its paw._

_“I wish I had a treat for you.” She sighed, patting her pockets only to find the chex mix she’d shoved in during her drunken rapport with the blonde back at the party. “I don’t think you’d want a pretzel, huh?” It tilted its head, its eyes seeming to study her for just a moment before it yawned and stretched, walking away. “I guess not then.”_

_Bim stood up, watching as the cat ambled casually onto the street and was about to turn back into the woods when she saw the beam of headlights flashing onto the road. The green Beetle seemed to turn sharply at the corners as it sped down the hill and her eyes widened, seeing the cat suddenly decide to fall onto the back of its legs in the middle of the road to lick its ass._

_“Hey!” She called out to it, waving her hand frantically but the orange thing paid no heed, only looking boredly at her before returning to the task at hand. “Cat! Move!” But again, it just ignored her._

_Unfortunately, the driver seemed completely unaware, the car only coming closer and closer until the beam of the lights finally shone directly at the cat. And finally noticing it, the creature looked up, its legs wide open and its pupils narrowing at the bright light_

_Seeing as it was stunned immobile, Bim shut her eyes, exhaling in exasperation before appearing inside of the car and yanking the wheel to the left, hearing it swerve loudly off the street and the driver scream as it throttled towards the trees._

_She left it to continue down its path, reappearing on the road to kneel down and pat the kitty on the head before carrying it and laying it gently on the other side of the street._

_“You need to be more careful, okay?”_

_It just looked up at her before scurrying away and satisfied, Bim turned back towards the woods, eyeing the flattened shrubs and the cracked branches that the car had blasted through._

_Now this was something interesting._

_By the time she’d caught up to it, it’d come to a complete stop, its headlights beaming through the forest as the car hummed quietly. Bim shoved her hands in her pocket, peeking into the passenger window and she gasped, recognizing the girl slumped against the window._

_It was the blonde girl, her chest barely rising with each shallow breath._

_How... unfortunate._

_Shrugging, she looked deeper into the car and found the driver muttering quietly to herself as she stared forward in a daze._

_“We can spend the night in the car and then drive back home in the morning.” She caught her saying. “No big deal. We’ll be fine.”_

_And finding her shaky attempt at self reassurance a bit laughable Bim couldn’t help herself, snapping her fingers and letting the engine die. Everything fell dark and quiet and she entertained herself with the girl falling into a complete panic._

_But soon enough, Bim grew bored and deeming her circumstances just not dire enough to bother forming a contract over, she just moved on to the next thing._

_When she returned to the tree beside Zala, the night seemed to had taken a turn for the better and they watched in amusement as ritual carried on with an unexpected companion and the driver was finally hoisted over the taller girl's shoulder and carried out of the clearing._

_When the flames finally crackled to an end and the darkness enveloped them, Zala yawned, looking over to her._

_"I'm tired. You ready to head back home?" The younger girl asked, grabbing her by the arm and Bim smiled, about to join her, when she suddenly heard a loud crash. "Bim?"_

_Bim couldn't help but to quirk her head towards the sound, inadvertently pulling herself from the other girl's grip as she moved forward and missing the way her sister's smile faltered._

_"Hey, you could go on ahead. I'll be right there." And she disappeared before Zala could even begin to protest._

_Bim found herself back at the car, the window now shattered and the door thrown open as yet another familiar but now tear streaked face cradled the blonde girl in her arms on the ground._

_She watched as the girl gently brushed the blonde strands out of her face, tucking them behind her ear and caressing her cheek shakily. The blonde's lips had long turned blue, her chest having long fallen still._

_But it didn't stop the girl from breathing heavily above her, the words spilling from her mouth barely audible as she pulled her closer against her._

_"Hey, you're okay."_

_Her phone lie dead and useless by her feet, any other means of help a far and unreasonable reach._

_"You're okay. You're okay. You're okay."_

_The desperate mantra seemed to be more of an attempt to comfort her than the girl in her arms. She buried her face in her hair, shutting her eyes until finally Bim decided to make herself visible, kicking aside the large rock that she'd probably used to smash open the window._

_The silver haired girl immediately jerked her head up and her eyes widened upon meeting Bim's._

_"Hi." The demon greeted but she received no response, the girl only staring with swollen eyes as she hugged the blonde tighter and cradled her head protectively. Sighing, Bim sat down in front of her, crossing her legs as she leaned forward. "I don't mean any harm, I promise."_

_The girl in front of her didn't budge, her eyes remaining trained on hers._

_"I'm sorry I scared you." Bim extended a hand, hoping to make some ground with an introduction. "I'm Bim. We met at the party?"_

_She didn't take her hand but the girl exhaled heavily, her eyes beginning to brim with tears once again at the memory before finally opening her mouth._

_"She needs help." She was barely able to choke out and the demon nodded in understanding, a lightbulb going off in her head as she scooted closer._

_"That's why I'm here." She said as her lips quirked into a sympathetic smile. "How about we make a deal?"_

 

* * *

 

The ringing continued incessantly as Jinsoul stared on in utter shock at the two demons arguing before her. 

It was all too much to process. 

She was dead.

Or she _had_ been dead but the fact was enough to make her head spin, the girl sinking into the couch in a stunned silence.

Her phone just continued to ring and vibrate on the counter and growling at the excessive noise, Zala whipped to face her.

"Are you going to fucking pick that thing up?" 

"What?" The girl asked in a daze and with a huff, the demon grabbed it from the counter before disappearing into the air and returning empty handed. The sight was enough to snap her out of her trance. "What did you do with my phone?" 

Zala barely spared her a response.

"Dropped it into a volcano." She then turned back towards her sister, running a vexed hand through her hair. "You broke a rule, you idiot! This is bad… This is really fucking bad..." 

Bim paced the expanse of the living room, driving her hands deep inside her pockets. 

"No, I can fix this." Her eyes shone as she suddenly paused and pulled her hands out to clasp them together. "Maybe we could come up with another contract!" 

Zala exhaled in frustration. "No, it doesn't work like that! You can't make two contracts for the same reason!" 

The older demon pursed her lips, opening her mouth to argue once again before just shutting it, finally at a loss for words. 

They pondered in silence for a moment before noticing the shaky hand that had risen in the air.

"This isn't class, Jinsoul. What do you want?" Zala muttered, crossing her arms as the girl slowly lowered her hand.

"Hi, um, I don't really understand what's going on."

Zala looked over to Bim, passing the baton to her as she gestured for Jinsoul to scoot over before retiring on the couch beside her. 

Bim looked out to her audience of two, clearing her throat. 

"I accidentally broke a rule. I think I wasn't supposed to reveal more than you already knew about the contract." She began, wringing her hands.

"And what exactly does that mean?" 

"Breaking any rule voids the contract once it's been discovered." Bim paused, laughing nervously and the sound of that was enough to give her chills. "That means Jungeun will be free from her end of the deal but…" She looked at Jinsoul sympathetically as her words faded out. 

Jinsoul stared back blankly for a few seconds. 

Until the realization absolutely gutted her. 

"I'm going to die again." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thoughts? anger? confusion? 
> 
> pls smash that kudos button below n leave me feedback whether it be here or on thru my cc! much appreciated! lots of love!!!
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/vgaeus)  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/vgaeus)


End file.
